Simply Irresistible
by TheLostSpirit
Summary: He had sins, seven to be exact, and could not hide them. But they were only for her-she was the essence of his life. SK
1. Sloth

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Sin #1: Sloth**

He felt no need to rush. He had no apparent thrive for this life, this woman that was not here in the first place. Every once in a while, she would jump into the hole that was surrounded by wood and a bright light would appear. Then her scent would be gone and he would be stuck there, waiting and waiting. At first, he had no idea what to think. He worried that the girl was taken away from him forever! But, she would always come back.

This was no different. This time, she carelessly waved farewell to her friends—one was a demon slayer, one a monk, and one a fox demon—and reassured a half-demon that she would be okay. She spoke about these "tests" that she had to take, and would complain how they would kill her. And every time he heard that, he felt he needed to follow her into this hole.

He had also tried to follow her, too. When she went inside the hole one time, he made sure there was no one around and stared into the darkness. He wondered where she went and leapt into the depths. But his feet touched the ground and nothing changed. Her scent was not there.

Then she made a remark about something like the "future" to the fox demon sometime ago. So, she was not from this time like she had lied about before. _"I'm from another country, Sesshomaru,"_ she commented once. Was she worried about this secret bringing destruction to the land around? He knew nothing about the future except his own—one that would not be so lonely.

Ever since his wards had left, it had been ever so quiet around. Jaken had decided to run an army (Sesshomaru's, since he could not worry about both his lands and the girl) and Rin, well, she was in a human village that forbade demons to enter. He would never see the little girl that he saved before and this made him reminisce on the past multiple times.

But Sesshomaru cared not. This night was no different from any other night before his wards. He sat in this tree, yes, but he would not move until she was there. Until her scent was visible, he did not need to move. And, at times, he dreamt about life with and without her. One dream he had remembered fondly was one he recently had, only a few days ago.

_He slept under the stars; he was always safe with the Moon's protection. He was sleeping in the trees, but he was in the field of flowers below him when he dreamt. There were so many flowers around that he could not detect any demons if he wanted to—the scents were too strong. He could hear, though, and there were footsteps behind him. He turned around, but saw no one there._

_Then, arms wrapped around his body carefully and he looked down. He was about to take the hands off of their arms, but he knew these hands. They helped him before, and now they held flowers. "Hey, Sesshomaru," the voice spoke to him. He felt at ease with this person around, and he had no idea why. It just happened overnight. "Do you think we'll meet in a field of flowers? Or maybe we'll be surrounded by flowers our whole lives?" He smirked and turned around._

_Yes, it was her. It was the one he had been after since she helped him. She took her arms away from him and held the flowers still near his chest. This scent was alluring, both her and the flowers. How he wanted to run his fingers through her hair and hold her close for eternity. He took her hands instead and held the flowers with her. "You can have anything you desire," she smiled._

_He couldn't help it: he had to smile back. She stepped closer to him and he did not move. He cared for this woman, he needed this woman. He was being his father, but he was not ashamed. "Then I'd choose a life of flowers and love," she remarked. He did not remove his hands from hers and she the same. _

"_You can have it all," he whispered back. She nodded._

"_Then I trust you to keep this promise," she replied. He would not let her down. He was going to hold her in this dream, his Heaven, but a rustle in the trees made his slumber short: it was only a harmless forest creature. He could not fall asleep again, so he sought his dream and continued elsewhere. _

0o0

When had he become attached to the girl? Perhaps it was when she invaded his father's grave, when she pulled the sword from the stone. No, he had only feelings to kill—they were not love. No, it was too far in the future from then. It would be a year ago, almost to the day. He closed his eyes. Now he remembered: it was raining.

_The rain dripped onto the trees around and he sat beneath a branch. He could feel the raindrops hit his bare chest (it was necessary). His beast was howling and burning with the sensation to kill anything around—he had recently been ambushed by demons from other lands to conquer his own. As he did kill everyone in that battle, he was mortally wounded. Without proper medicine and bandaging, he would not live for much longer._

_What had he done in life? Was it going to be remembered as a cruel bloodshed around Japan? What about his wards? Ah, they had to be worried about him, for they were only a few miles away at camp. He had tried his best to protect them, so maybe their respect would carry into the afterlife, wherever he was going. "Eh? Sesshomaru?" He heard a woman's voice in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw a filthy human._

_Her legs were covered in dirt, her feet encased in mud, with her uniform—the strange outfit that he had never seen before—messy as well. What had she been doing before this encounter? "What happened to you!" she began to panic around and dropped whatever was in her possession. It appeared to be food, but she forgot about that the moment she arrived._

_So she was the collector of food as well. He slowly blinked and felt his wounds growing—he was going to die in front of a human. She knelt down in front of him and began to examine him without his approval. He started to growl, or maybe it was his beast reacting to her touch, and she snapped her hands back. "If you don't let me help you, you'll die," she remarked. He continued to growl._

"_I need no help from a worthless human," she felt determined at this point. He did not miss this feeling in her eyes, no. But the pain in his body surged through his veins as he began to cough up blood. She reacted as if she got his approval—her hand touched the wound on his side. He howled in pain and she pushed more into the wound._

"_It'll stop the bleeding! Just hold on," she said. Her other hand reached out to his chest and pushed against his abdomen, trying to stop that bleeding too. He howled again in pain and his beast whined. She did not notice his anger rising and falling, out of control and spinning into oblivion. She released her grasp on the wound on his side and swung this pack of items around her body. Was this full of medicine?_

_Sesshomaru watched in interest as she began to dig through numerous items to get what she wanted. There were so many things he had not recognized before—characters on these bottles, too, were unfamiliar! The blood stained on her hands were now staining the cloth on her sack, turning a dark brown color. She threw more items on the ground and he watched her in amazement._

_Had she always been this determined? Had she always had this sort of relaxed vibe when she panicked? Rather, had she always been…he could not pick out the words. Maybe it was the rain playing with her looks. She took a bottle out and smiled. "Found it!" She looked into his eyes and frowned. "The smell is terrible, Sesshomaru. And this will sting—a lot. Do not think I'm killing you, okay?" He snarled._

"_A human like you could not kill me," she sighed._

"_Although that may be true, my powers could potentially make your wounds worse. Just stay still, okay?" And so he obliged. He had never done this before, especially with a human. She opened the bottle—she was right, it smelt terrible! It was horrid, an intangible smell that was worse than a rotting corpse! He lowly growled at the smell and she swallowed anything and everything in her—she feared him, he knew that._

"_Ready?" She whispered. He closed his eyes and she took note of his approval. Then, a burning, stinging sensation hit his wound and his eyes snapped open. All he saw was red. He looked over at the girl with anger and she was continuing to pour the liquid in his wound. Just what was this horrible item! Was it poisoning him? She placed a cloth over the wound and he felt it bubbling inside. What was it doing?_

_She began to wipe most of the blood away from his body with a cloth of hers and she took the top of his clothing. "I need to put this here for right now, okay?" He did not care. He just did not want to feel that liquid inside of him ever again! She stuffed some of his cloth from his kimono into the wound and somehow stopped the bleeding—just how powerful was she? She took the liquid again and poured it on his other wound. He grabbed her wrist in defense; she stopped._

_He looked at her with such a burning intensity that she had to stop. "You will cease poisoning my own flesh and blood," he said to her. She looked back down at the wound and began to wipe it with the cloth again. He noticed the blood washing away with the rain, too. _

"_It's not poison, Sesshomaru. It's something to help the wound close and heal faster, that's all," he slowly began to release his grip on her and she poured more on his chest. Was she not afraid of him? No, she was, but not that terrified. If it were anyone else, they would've left by now. But not her—why?_

_Soon enough, she placed another cloth over this wound and put something on top of that liquid. The smell would fade with the rain and he sighed in relief. He could live without that scent, this was true. She placed the terrible liquid back in her bag and began to search for more items. The more he looked at her, the more he admired her passion. _

_She pulled bandages out and started to unravel the cloth. "Uh, Sesshomaru, I need to…uh…" he saw her blush and noticed the embarrassment she had to withstand in order to help him. She need not say another word. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on her shoulder. What was he doing? He closed his eyes and felt her freeze from his sudden movements. "S-S-Sesshomaru?" She was nervous, no doubt. This was the first time he had shown emotions. Was it because he was on the brink of death?_

_He growled, but it was low enough to think it was a moan. "You may proceed," he whispered. What was he doing? This scent of her, this feel of the cloth, the touch of her hands…something inside of him wanted more. He felt her arms wrap around his torso and she began to wrap his bandages accordingly. He was only going to rest on her shoulder for a couple minutes for the wound on his side, but how he took in these few minutes with care._

_The touch of her hands sent electricity through his veins; the scent that she had on, whatever it was, it carried in his nose for a long time; the feel of her body against his—he had never felt this before. This was a first for him, but this is what he had been seeking the whole time he had been alive. It was never about his lands; it was always about a companion. She tightened the bandage around him. "U-Uh, Sesshomaru, y-you can lean b-back," he didn't want to move, but he had to._

_If he was going to be near her again, he had to stay alive. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree and she was red with embarrassment. He had stained her outfit with his own blood—although it did not suit her to have this blood, it was fitting. She glanced down at her shirt and frowned, but she shrugged. "I guess this is what I get for helping you," she joked. She took the other bandage in her bag and unraveled that, too._

_This was in a wrapped package, though. She only had to place the cloth on his chest. She looked at him: "Can you hold this here while I get something to help you?" He willingly accepted and placed his hand over hers. For a second, it felt wonderful. And, for a second, they both did not want to move. But she had to save him and she slipped her hand away from him. She then began to take this sticky paper and pull it from some kind of package again._

_Sesshomaru needed to ask: "Why are you helping me?" Kagome stopped for a moment and shrugged._

_"I guess I don't want to see someone die, especially since you've helped me in the past, too." This was true. He had saved the girl numerous times, for unknown reasons. Sesshomaru said no word after that, but Kagome continued. "That, and you don't deserve to die yet," Deserve, he thought. When was the time going to come when he "deserved" to die? Was it to be with her? She shook her head, as if she was thinking the same thing, and continued what she was doing.  
_

_She took one long piece and tore it off. He was slightly confused as to how this would help him. "It will hold the bandage in place, Sesshomaru, so you don't have to hold it the whole time," she commented. Ah, so it would heal the wound for him? He did not reject this offer: he wanted to feel this against his skin to see what it would do. She placed a piece on top of the cloth and slid her hand across his chest—his beast shivered._

_She did this three more times, before the cloth was surrounded by this mysterious item. He would have to get some from her if she had excessive amounts of this. "You can take your hand away, Sesshomaru," he was afraid that the cloth would fall off and more blood would pour out. But he took it away and trusted the girl—the cloth did not fall. Although the wound was still bleeding, it was lessening as the cloth absorbed most of it. _

_She closed her bag up and left out the mysterious sticky substance and more bandages. "I know you do not want me around you," he was disappointed at her remark, "but you need to change your bandage on your chest at least once a day. I'll leave this stuff here for you—I'm sure you know how to use it since you watched me do it for you," she placed the items on his lap (a dangerous spot to touch him, too) and he did not look away from her face._

_She looked tired and exhausted. Had she always been healing people? She rubbed her eyes and he noticed specks of his blood on her face. The rain had not washed away her help after all. He was indebted to this girl—but what could he do in return? "Who did this to you?" she asked. He said nothing. She figured he did not want to talk. "No need to tell me, Sesshomaru. If it's something about pride, you don't need to say a word. I know this feeling of silence when it comes with pride." _

_Yes, she travelled with his idiotic half-brother, Inuyasha. But… "What is your name?" She was surprised at this question. She had not gotten an answer from her own question, but he was able to ask questions? He stared at her, determined to find out this name—it would torment him if she did not tell him._

"_It's Kagome," she said. So, Kagome. He felt at ease knowing her name, especially what it meant: a pattern of holes. She was certainly clouded with mystery, with voids in her life that he had not known anything about. He'd find out somehow. She took the bag from her side and slung it around her body again. He paid no attention to her actions—just her face. She looked up to the sky and felt the raindrops fall. "Looks like the rain will not stop."_

_She let one of her hands hang in the silence and he noticed the rain collecting in it. The blood was washing away from her palm. She looked back at him and he noticed her hair sticking to her face and neck as well as the dirt that was on her going away. Had she always had such pristine skin? She felt no need to stay anymore and she rose from her spot. Her knees were still covered in dirt and mud, but now she was covered in blood._

_She stretched and he could not look away. He had to keep looking, for the fear that she would disappear so suddenly was there. She looked down at him and she smiled. "I hope your wounds heal, Sesshomaru. I may not see you for a long time, but I hope you're healthy enough to even battle Inuyasha," she winked. So, she could joke around when someone was potentially dying. He closed his eyes and she turned around. He knew she could not see his smile. _

_He heard her walking away. He had to act: "I must thank you," her footsteps stopped and he knew she was looking at him. He did not let the smile fade. "for saving me. I am indebted to your life," he opened his eyes and saw her wide eyes staring back. Yes, she had not seen his forgiving side at all, either. He was not always the cold-blooded assassin as everyone thought he was. "Kagome," he whispered her name. It rolled off his tongue—it was truly remarkable how she changed his perspective on her so quickly._

_She blushed again and smiled. "A-Ah, it was nothing Sesshomaru! You don't have to repay me or anything! Just get better!" With that, she ran off. And he watched her run into the forest with nothing but the bag on her back. She left the food behind, the one thing she was after in the first place, and she disappeared in the midst of the trees. He could hear faint yelling from the distance—Inuyasha, most likely—and closed his eyes again._

_Eventually, it stopped raining. But not before he met her._

0o0

He opened his eyes and noticed the moon in the sky. It seemed that she was always gone when he needed someone the most: in the dead of night. A familiar scent was around him, though, so he was not alone. "What are you doing here, you bastard?" The voice called to him. Sesshomaru did not turn his head, figuring the person was next to him in the first place. After all, they were no threat.

"I am merely resting," he commented. The person scoffed.

"You are after something, aren't you?" Sesshomaru did not speak. He merely sat in silence as the person continued. "I don't know what you're up to, but you better stay away from us, including Kagome," he blinked at her name. It had been ages since he had been able to say her name, to hear her voice, to feel her touch. He breathed in the fresh air around and released it soon after.

Sesshomaru stared at the wood on the ground. "It is not necessary to interfere with her life, Inuyasha," he said. Inuyasha was probably refusing to accept this, so Sesshomaru had to lie. "I find no value in her life,"Inuyasha scoffed once more.

"Then why was she full of your scent one day, with your blood?" Sesshomaru knew Inuyasha would be careless to talk about the day, as if it were nothing important. Sesshomaru still had not moved.

"I did not ask for her help, half-breed. She aided me in my time of need," Inuyasha growled; apparently, he said the wrong thing. It was not meant to be sexual in any way, so perhaps Inuyasha thought they mated. That'd be another day, another time. Inuyasha jumped from his own tree and Sesshomaru took note of the change in the air. So the girl was back after all. Sesshomaru did not move.

"Good, because if you were to try anything," Inuyasha looked up at Sesshomaru; he only looked at Inuyasha with his eyes. Both of their pairs of golden eyes shone in the dark night and both did not look away. "I'll kill you," Sesshomaru grunted at his remark.

"You could not hurt me if you tried," Inuyasha scoffed once more and began to leap over to the hole in the ground. Sesshomaru reached for his chest and felt nothing there—he could've sworn there was a wound, for the remembrance of her hand was still there. He watched as Inuyasha reached down into the hole and started to pull away. He saw the girl's hand wrapped around Inuyasha's arm and her bag still full of items. She still looked as radiant as ever.

He did not catch most of their conversation—he only cared about her voice. He asked about those "tests" she had to conquer, and she said she defeated them. Good, so she was powerful after all. Her scent carried in the air—it was different today. It was almost the smell of cherry blossoms in the spring, but it was not to be that season yet. Not for a long time, anyway. He took note of her new outfit, too, which was a traditional kimono. Inuyasha commented on this as well.

"What's with the new look?" He saw her face change to anger and she replied:

"I just wanted to see how this would work, that's all! I hate when people give me terrible looks when in a new village!" Inuyasha shrugged and commented on the bag that she carried around. She could not give that up, for that was her supply for battle after all. Sesshomaru did not mind either outfit—she was perfect either way.

At first, Sesshomaru hated the way he thought about the human. But because of Rin, his heart was different, and he could find a way to love anything. Not all humans, though, for most were filthy and disgusting, but she was different. She was not like any human before. Sesshomaru jumped out of his thoughts as Inuyasha caught his eyes once again. Kagome looked in the trees and Sesshomaru sat as still as possible. He feared that if she saw him, she would reject him.

"Hm? What's wrong?" She was worried—he did not mean to scare her. Inuyasha turned around and scoffed as the girl climbed on his back. She would be protected under his care more than Inuyasha's; he knew this.

"Nothing," Inuyasha replied. Sesshomaru followed the two as Inuyasha skipped away from the hole. Sesshomaru felt no need to move still—he was quite comfortable where he was, actually. He closed his eyes and took in the scent once more. No, he did not need to move or go towards the girl.

He was fine where he was. There was always another day to get the girl.

**So, I'm trying this out. Wow, I'm just all over the place with these things, huh? This is kind of a drabble thing, but there's only 7 chapters and it's not just 100 words a chapter. I probably could drag this out for 100 words a chapter, but that's a lot of chapters. **

**Yes, this is the Seven Deadly Sins-with Sesshomaru. There'll be times where Kagome comes in and is with the same sin (or different!) and uh..yeah. That's about all this story's about. It's a lot of fluff. A LOT. Do you know how hard it is with my Blossoms story to not just have them KISS? GOD.**

**So, yes, Sesshomaru loves Kagome because she's calm around him. No one else is like that, including Rin! GASP! I want to try and update this as much as possible between my downtime with Blossoms, so we'll see how this goes, huh?**

**And I'm sorry that I'm doing the Seven Deadly Sins! I know, it's probably been written over and over and over again on this site! But my love for those sins is too much to contain! **

**So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this little story...stuff going on. I'm writing this STRICTLY for myself, so, really, I know what's going to happen in the end. You can't really change anything because I'm writing it for me! 8D (And I don't care about the love being rushed-I need my dose.)  
**

**Thanks again and review if you have any questions or comments! I'm always open to discuss.**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	2. Envy

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Sin #2: Envy  
**

Days turned into months. He tried to stay away from the girl as much as possible, but it seemed that his beast couldn't stay away for long. It would go right back to where it started and stay close enough to smell her alluring scent. And at times, it was too close for comfort. Many humans would run past him without a caring thought about him—was he not threatening anymore? And the horrible stench that covered hers…he wished for all of them to perish. But he would follow some of the humans to get to her.

He would watch as many humans ran up to her—children, women, and even men—and spoke to her. It seemed so easy to them, to just talk to her without a care in the world and to be able to be around her. He was jealous. Why? They were humans, creatures that deserved nothing but torture and sadness in their putrid lives. But he was still desirous as he watched her smile towards _them_, not him. He wanted to be there. He wanted her smile.

Every day, in the shadows, he would watch her approach different humans (their smells would leak onto her, which was unattractive). She would smile, laugh, carry on with life, help them move if their legs were injured or heal their spirits if they were down, and just be there with them. He yearned for this attention, ached that she was not able to look at him like this—so this was why he was jealous. She was looking at others when she should be looking at him at all times, with the same smile.

His hand was twitching today. He walked past the hole in the ground (she was in the Feudal Era, so he didn't know why he was near the thing in the first place) and felt his heart race. It hadn't done such a thing in a long time—actually, it never did anything like this before. He placed his hand over his heart and felt it thumping against his chest. He noticed how wondrous his heart was, being able to be affected so easily by a simple walk past an inanimate object.

But it held so much value to him. Although he could not travel through time to get to her, others could if they so chose to. Especially his half-brother, who Sesshomaru was bitter towards because of the girl's company around him—he deserved no love. Not hers, anyway, for he always treated her poorly. _"You need to fight harder, Kagome!" _He heard his brother yell once. How he wanted to rip Inuyasha's throat out from his body.

Why, though? He had a perfectly good reason, too: he made her cry. Even though she subdued him like a little puppy tied to a leash, she fumed with anger. _"I'm trying, Inuyasha! If I weren't, then you would've kicked me out of the group already!" _Sesshomaru heard her voice echo in his mind—he couldn't place the time or moment where this happened, but he could still hear her frustration. He remembered reaching out with his hand to grab her and console her, but he couldn't. He was a demon, she was a human. It would always be forbidden.

Sesshomaru had no pleasure in listening to his idiotic brother talk back to the woman. He had no reason to speak to her again, for he was on grounds of abusing her. And to Sesshomaru, that was grounds for death. _"Maybe the only reason you're in the group is because of the shards! You're the one that broke the jewel in the first place!" _He remembered her reaction to this: she was taken aback by the outburst the half-breed had, and she was frozen in place.

_Her breathing was becoming pained and her tears were falling at a faster rate. His beast wanted to jump out from the shadows and protect her at all costs. But Sesshomaru stood back. He couldn't do it—he was a coward when she was in the picture. His pride proved too strong once more. She stood in place as Inuyasha laid across the dirt below. It must've been a painful saying to hear._

_"You're so stupid, Inuyasha," she whispered after a long silence. Inuyasha drooped his ears and rested his head on the dirt. As much as he regretted saying something like that, it was kind of true—at least, to Inuyasha it was kind of true. Sesshomaru watched the girl, who was full of anger, and she seemed visibly broken. "Fine. I'll find your shards. Then you can have your jewel and you'll lose a companion. You can be a stray dog," she said to him. It was so spiteful, full of rage and bitterness towards him that Sesshomaru was almost surprised to find this kind of emotion in her._

_How his attraction grew. She couldn't hold it all in anymore and she ran off in the opposite direction of both of them. And she didn't run into Sesshomaru for comfort or anything romantic like that—although, he wouldn't mind holding the girl in his arms. No, she ran to the humans that consoled her. They wrapped their arms around her, and he watched as Inuyasha was left in the dust. Sesshomaru stepped out from the forest and Inuyasha snarled. _

_"Get away from me," he growled. Sesshomaru stood next to his half-brother for a second before realizing he was actually near him. He looked down at the half-demon in the dirt and admired the girl for her strength against a half-demon. What would she do to a full-grown demon? Sesshomaru did not want to find out. _

_"You are a fool's fool, half-breed," Inuyasha embedded his nails into the dirt with anger and he bore his teeth toward Sesshomaru. He paid no attention to the meaningless threats that Inuyasha brought. "A jewel that brings nothing but despair, and you go after such a thing. That priestess somehow brought you happiness. And you pushed it away," Sesshomaru walked towards the scent of the girl—he had to follow her._

_Inuyasha pulled himself up from the ground and rested on his knees. "Where are you going?" Sesshomaru did not turn around, but he did reply. As much as he didn't want to, Inuyasha had to be punished three times over. And Sesshomaru didn't mind giving the punishment to his own half-brother._

_"I seek what you lost," he said. Inuyasha growled and wanted to kill Sesshomaru for this thought, but before he rose to his feet, Sesshomaru disappeared in the shadows once more. The darkness suited him, yes, but he'd rather have pure light all around, not just the light from the sun. All Sesshomaru heard from the half-demon was a pained howl and the falling of trees. And, this time, he did not lie. How painful does the truth hurt. _

0o0

It was a different day, a different time. The sun was slowly falling on the lands and most of the villagers were coming back from the fields or from the forest, wherever they were. The sky had a few clouds in the area, an ominous sign of a storm coming. There were some speaking of this storm already, fearing that they would have to keep their livestock safe or perhaps shelter their families in hopes that no one would be fatally wounded. Children, though, carelessly ran around the homes and played with one another.

He was sitting on top of a house, away from the trees and into the sun's light. Sesshomaru watched them. He was only observing, nothing more. They were so free from troubles, able to do anything they wanted—was Rin the same? Sesshomaru sorted through numerous memories with the girl. She was, especially when they were in new areas and new people ran by. Of course, if they were threatening to kill her because of her relationship with him they would die, but most smiled at her energy.

Did he? He paid no attention to the girl, especially during the last few years of her leaving. She was growing into a mature woman and he was growing distant with the thoughts of Naraku still on his mind. He couldn't keep up with a human by his side nor could he keep his longtime ward near either. It was going to get dangerous and he didn't want to see them get killed. It was a soft spot, his wards, but being near someone for so long, something had to be done.

_"It's okay, Lord Sesshomaru! I understand!" _Did she? She always had that stupid grin on her face, as if she were okay leaving his side. He didn't even think about what she thought at the time. He thought Naraku was much more important than the girl he had saved years ago. She was maturing, yes, but she still had some signs of not being able to comprehend what was going on. When Sesshomaru brought her to the village, every villager around began to attack him.

How he fought every urge to not burn the place down with his rage. But she seemed to like the village every time they neared the place. _"It has this feeling of peace, something I've never felt in a long time!" _She always spoke about it being free of calamity and having nothing but blue skies and sunshine every time. Perhaps she was thinking of Heaven, but she never knew about religion as much as he did. After all, he had been through Hell and Heaven numerous times, especially during times of war. He watched her be protected by the idiotic humans and he did nothing.

What could he do? He'd make her fearful if he were to bring this calamity to the village. He spotted Rin behind them and he noticed her farewell. _"Goodbye, Lord Sesshomaru! We'll meet again!" _He doubted this. He didn't want to waste any time seeing her in the future, and he didn't want to risk her life with his scent around her, especially with demons always trying to kill him. Although, it would be nice to see her one more time, just to see how she was doing.

Was it really his decision to make her go? No, it wasn't. He thought about this as the children ran around. She wanted to go, because she couldn't do it anymore. _"Lord Sesshomaru, I think I need to leave your side." _He was a little surprised at this remark but it was inevitable. He was not going to be some kind of protector for her his whole life, especially when he was more of a wanderer than a dweller, and he certainly did not want a little human girl near him the whole time. _"Is this okay?"_ She spoke as if she needed approval.

Of course it was okay. Of course he was a little skeptical that she wanted to do this full-heartedly. But could he really say no to her? So, of course, he nodded and he watched her smile. He must've been holding her back from her childhood, with death and demons around to fear the living daylights out of her day and night. Then she would run off and play in the fields with the different critters around and he would have to make a slight detour from their journey.

_"Do you really think it is time, Lord Sesshomaru?" _The children around scattered, playing some game he had never heard of before. A little girl (she reminded him of Rin, for some reason) hid her face against the side of the hut and started to count. She was having trouble with some numbers, as all children have, and when she got to ten, she lifted her face and started to run around. The rest of the children were hiding—Sesshomaru, of course, could sense where they were.

What were they playing, exactly? Sesshomaru noted how some were hiding and one had to somehow seek out their friends. _"Lady Kagome! Let's play hide and seek today!" _That's right, it was a few years ago since they played that game. She was around at the time and she could distract Rin from him for a while. And they played that. It must've been a fun game, for they both laughed and smiled from their time together. Sesshomaru was clueless at the time, but it was the way humans lived—they thrived on distraction.

The girl was very good at the game, for she kept finding the boys and girls right away. Of course there were not a lot of hiding spots—children were not allowed near the trees in this place nor were they allowed to climb the trees either. How would they get down? Sesshomaru continued to sit on top of the roof and scouted the town. Men were entering their homes in exhaustion while their wives were waiting. How he dreamed to have something like this, where someone was always there, waiting…

Had anyone really waited for his return? His wards only used him for protection, so they could not count. And his heart never loved a single being on this planet before—it was always spiteful and angered at the fact that there were people out there that meant absolutely nothing to him and yet there they were, wasting time and space. But how he had longed for this feeling, this feeling of wholeheartedness, of companionship, and of family; he hadn't felt familiar feelings since his parents. And even then, they were passive.

Even Inuyasha had someone that waited on him. Sometimes, it was the woman he yearned for, and other times, it was the dead one. When the woman was away, it would be that dead carcass that Sesshomaru cared not about. He did not understand how the woman he dreamt about could be able to stand this treacherous demise, but she always had the same attitude. _"Even I cannot break their love,_" and she would always sigh. To bring back a loved one through emotionless ties, it was disgusting in the first place.

Then he began to wonder. Would he do it? If it were the woman, the one that even he could not speak her name, the one that had taken his heart by a rapid storm and thrashed his emotions…he didn't know. He couldn't say, to tell you the truth. If he lost the girl, he would have to wait another 500 years before he would see her again, before history would start to repeat itself over and over again. Then again, would he mind? Would this be Heaven, to keep feeling her touch, smelling her delicate scents…

He looked down to the ground and noticed the little girl staring up at him. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed him. If the woman was a little girl, she wouldn't remember him. He'd be an adult in the era she grew up in; Heaven forbid that he would die by lecherous humans before then. No, he'd fight to get to her one more time, even if it were in the future. The little girl stared in wonder at him—she'd do the same thing, he was sure. The girl spoke. "What are you?"

Her voice stung. His ears were not used to such barbaric tones, especially with humans. She had this wonder in her eyes, trying to piece together a simple puzzle that anyone with a brain could solve. He was bitter towards this girl—she deterred him from his thoughts. His eyes scanned the village again, ignoring her, and continued to find the source of the scent. He saw someone in that direction, someone facing a child who skidded their knee in the dirt.

What if it were her? What if she saw him? His beast was in a rush to get away, but he wanted to try being a human. At least, to try and talk to her like he were human. Suddenly, the girl that was in front of him was scooped up by someone that must've been her mother and there was a shriek. Sesshomaru sharply turned his attention to those in front of him and wished that he could silence the woman. She was being obnoxious and his ears could not stand her chords. "A demon!" she cried.

Was he that threatening? All eyes from the villagers turned to him (the woman was crudely pointing in his direction) and they all were afraid. He wasn't there to threaten them—if he was, they'd already be dead and he would be in his own lands, bathing in their blood. Some scattered into their homes, some just stood there watching him. Others grabbed weapons—well, humans called them these, but they were usually just farming utilities—and defended their homes. He wanted to laugh.

He peered over to the person kneeling. They didn't move, their eyes still on the person ahead of them. How he wished to be the child! How he was…he could not think of the word, but he was jealous of the child, for her touch scouted every part of his body. His beast twitched in excitement and he rose from his spot. He could feel another presence nearby, one that he did not want to encounter. "You bastard, what are you doing in the village! Are you here to kill some more people while you're at it?"

Sesshomaru did not look over at him. It was false—he hadn't killed a single person for almost a few months now. He wanted to change for the girl, wanted to show that he wasn't just the assassin. He could be the person that always spoke to her, always laughed with her and cried with her, and was always there. He could be a human, sure, but he didn't really want to; it was all for her. But his pride…damn his pride, he needed to get rid of that.

"Oi! I'm talking to you!" Sesshomaru shifted his eyes over to the sight for sore eyes and noticed the angered expression on his face. He had a hand on the hilt of his sword and he was ready to pounce. Sesshomaru felt no threat and probably believed that Inuyasha was pissed about other things. "You better leave before I have to kick your ass!" Sesshomaru turned to the woman again. She was finishing bandaging when she had turned to the commotion.

How she turned, it was glorious. It was like time had slowed down at that exact moment of capturing her eyes when he noticed how her hair flicked around her shoulder and casually drifted down her back. The wonder in her eyes redefined the surprise in her face as she rose from the ground and stood in awe. Why was he here again? Sesshomaru felt the wind pick up and he looked to his half-brother. The sword was already out and he was already swinging.

He wasted no time—he leapt into the sky and ran towards the girl. Kagome had no idea what to do and just stood there. Well, what could she do? There was a demon running right towards her, she had no weapon, and the one that should've been protecting her was trying to find the one he was after. Sesshomaru stopped mere inches from her body—dirt and rubble collided with their bodies—and he quickly spun around to face whatever was after him. Had his hair always been that long? He noticed how the two humans that followed this vermin were slow in catching up.

He felt her heat radiate against his cold body—how he envied those that felt this every day. Inuyasha pointed his sword at Sesshomaru. "Get away from her!" he yelled. Sesshomaru stood there in silence. Then, he felt it. He felt her hand land on his arm and he didn't move. His mouth twitched, though, for a split moment and he couldn't control his beast. It was wild.

"You don't mean harm, right?" Sesshomaru didn't turn to her, but her voice…then he heard his brother's voice.

"That bastard always means harm! Get away from him so I can get rid of him for good!" He heard the girl behind him grunt. Even when she was angry, he couldn't find a flaw on her.

"Maybe he's just here for something else!" Her hand did not move from his arm and he finally glanced down at it. It didn't really change, not at all. Although it was stained with the child's blood, it was still the one thing he craved. How the humans felt when her hand was always on them…how jealous he felt at this point! They got to be around her and to feel her presence the whole time, and he was to suffer for just the one time she touched him?

Inuyasha let out a laugh. "Keh! As if, Kagome! He's just here to take you so he can have the jewel for himself!" Sesshomaru found his logic, well, illogical. He never wanted the jewel, for it was worthless. Kagome sighed and was probably thinking the same thing: it was always about the jewel. Sesshomaru lifted his head from her hand and caught sight of her face. She was pained by this thought again, and he did not want her to cry again. If she did, Inuyasha's head would be the price to pay.

Instead, he placed his hand on top of hers. She was surprised (she gasped) and he stared longingly into her eyes. "Rest assured, you would not be used as an item if you were to travel with myself," he said. He never thought about her teaming up with him. What would it be like? Perhaps that were torturous, for having her scent near him at all times would only tempt him to do things that no demon wanted to do to humans. But he would enjoy every lasting second with her.

She looked down at the contact of both hands. How she wanted…she shook the thought away and looked back at Sesshomaru. Truth be told, his stare was pretty intense, almost like he was interrogating her for some reason. She smiled. "While I'm flattered at your words," she began to take her hand away from him. No, he needed this! Why was it that she could touch the humans for so long, but when he was near, she had to leave? Why was she…nervous? "I'm afraid I must first finish what I started. After all, I broke the thing in the first place," he went back to when she cried and growled.

"And yet you are being used. You are not happy," she shook her head.

"Not the slightest, but I must finish this before I can venture on," she smiled. He took note of her determination again and felt his beast thrive for her scent all over him. "Then you can take me whenever you want," she whispered. Inuyasha growled at this.

"No, no he won't! He can rot in Hell!" At this moment, Inuyasha swung in fury. He couldn't stand the confrontation between Sesshomaru and Kagome—they were too much. So he swung, almost causing Kagome to get injured! Sesshomaru, of course, grabbed her and leapt onto one of the nearby huts. How she fit in his arms and on his chest! But he couldn't think that now—he had to keep her safe (although he would have to try holding her). The wind whipped through them but he couldn't feel a thing between them. They were connected, for just a few seconds. But those few seconds lasted a long time.

0o0

When Sesshomaru landed, he immediately looked at Kagome. He noticed the look in her eyes, one that wasn't really afraid, but fear was there. "Will you stay with him now?" he asked her. She turned to him—was his voice always that deep? Sesshomaru looked away (he would've kidnapped her with the looks she gave him if he kept staring) and turned to Inuyasha. "You will give no harm to her if your life is worth saving," he said to Inuyasha. Inuyasha paid no heed to his warning and growled.

"And you'll stay away from her if you don't want to die by my sword!" Inuyasha yelled back. Sesshomaru looked down at her, who looked like she wanted to escape from both of them, and she started to talk to him.

"Why are you saving me?" He couldn't say that. It would give too much valuable information away, one that could potentially kill him if he were so careless. "I thought you hated humans," she said. While this was true, it wasn't. He had never hated Rin, the one that he cared so much about. And now, he didn't hate her, the one that took his heart.

She started to ramble on different questions and Inuyasha was tired of standing around watching the two of them. He put his sword away and walked past the two that didn't do anything but stand there. "Inuyasha?" Sango asked him. But he ignored her—he needed time to himself.

"Then do not leave if you are willing to wait," he whispered to her. Kagome was confused at this. Wait for what? She didn't think much of it and shrugged. She took her presence away from him and bowed in respect. He still hated that he was being treated like a Lord when around her—why couldn't she act normal, just like the others around? She was about to climb down from the hut and turned her back on him when he reached out for her arm. But his nails only grazed her bare arm and the air was left in his palm. She spun around in surprise and still noticed the intensity burning in his eyes. "But I'll be here," he whispered. His touch was not demanding, but it was more of a want. She smiled.

Her hand rested on his hand again and she smiled. Were the others jealous now? "Thank you again," she whispered before going back to the ground and back to her friends. Sesshomaru eyed the girl and watched her walk away. The villagers paid no more attention to him and he felt no need to move—he was fine where he was again. For that moment, there were others that were jealous of him. And it was not because of power or control over lands, but it was because of a girl. And now, she was walking away again, with those that he felt nothing for.

And the cycle repeated: he felt jealous.

**Uh, I have no idea if Sesshomaru would actually feel jealous. Probably not, but hey, it's there. (Kagome had a sin in this! What was it?)**

**So, if you notice much, there's a few times where it's Greed that goes back to Envy that goes back to Greed again. Sorry, Greed is everywhere. It'll have its own chapter, yes, but Greed seems to just seep into the other sins too. Can't have one without the others, right?**

**I was going to have this be Gluttony, and I did write a chapter for it, but I hate it. I'm going to rewrite it! Yay! 8D**

**..Uh, not much else to say about this chapter. I thought getting rid of the Rin problem right away would be okay, especially since it kind of fits with Envy anyway. Don't worry, it'll probably come back up during Wrath or something, whenever that'll be.**

**I think that's all I have...thanks for the reviews and hits and alerts and faves and whatever else you can do! I promise it'll start being more connected rather than random outbursts of events coming. Word on the street is that there's a kiss in the future 83**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**

_Next sin: Gluttony_**  
**


	3. Gluttony

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Sin #3: Gluttony  
**

He had to admit, though, that he was pushing his own boundaries now. He had been wandering the forest for a countless number of hours and he was trying to find a place to stay hidden. The half-breed and the monk were terrible spies when the women went to take a bath in the hot springs. At times, they would be found and would receive a terrible punishment for spying on them. _"You perverts!" _Sesshomaru had no knowledge of this word, but it was bad to be called this.

If any demons saw him around these people, they would be wondering the same thing: why was he hanging around lowly humans? Sesshomaru had been at war with humans since he was born, especially with Inuyasha's mother and his own father (he was no human, but acted like one). He found them to be filth, found them to be useless during battle because of the low status they brought armies, and found them to simply to be a waste of time and space.

But Sesshomaru would never tell the real reason he was around. He'd probably say something about keeping the humans in check in case they were after demons of his army, and it would be a lie. Any demon would eat that up. No, Sesshomaru would keep this secret until he died, or until it was well known around the girl that it was _her_ that drove him there and drove him to almost insanity.

He was _hungry_. And it was not for the tainted food that humans have tried to offer him while wandering this endless forest. No, he was hungry for _her_. He needed something to consume, for his beast was hungry for whatever taste and delicacy that was being offered. And, right now, the main course was her. Of course, she would be any course, including the sweets that she had talked about from time and time again. _"Candies are meant to be sweet! Go ahead, try them!" _They looked disgusting, but smelled heavenly.

And he had no idea how to consume her. She was not going to be killed while he was under his protection, no, and he was not a cannibal in any way. He would not bring out his sword only to kill her for her scent or skin—she was too pristine to kill in the first place. If it were any other time, like in the past when he didn't care for her smell, he would've killed her and taken her head as a trophy. But now, as she was on every thought that crossed his mind, he wanted more.

He had to try her. He had to find out what she tasted like, how she tasted, what flavors would spring into his mouth, and if he would enjoy it for every second of his life if he chose to have her. But he couldn't find a way out of her grasp—it was like he would be stuck with her until he would die. He was hungry and his stomach was getting restless.

Now, he was near the hot springs where the two women rested. The first woman blocked the view from the girl he was after and how he wanted to throw her out of the springs to be right there. Instead, he stood behind one of the trees and stared into the darkness as he heard their conversation. "Hey, Kagome," the other woman started. He heard the water move and figured Kagome had turned to her friend.

"Yeah?" Sesshomaru closed his eyes and silently breathed in. He was taking in everything she offered; this was his appetizer. Her voice sang in his ears and her movements that gracefully sprang from the water…

"Have you been noticing more of Sesshomaru lately?" His hand twitched. He didn't care if the girl treated him like a Lord or not, but the other woman had just disrespected his pride. The water moved again and he heard Kagome moan. She must've been thinking, right?

Kagome nodded. "Yes, I have! And he's been around me lately, actually. Like when he saved me from Inuyasha," she said. Sango remembered and nodded with her.

"Do you think he's lonely because of Rin and Jaken not being around him?" Sesshomaru blinked and felt a tinge of pain enter his body. Yes, as much as it pained him, he actually did miss both of them (more or less Rin, actually).

Kagome shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe it's something else that we're not figuring out."

Sango smirked. "Well, maybe he's taking a liking to you, huh?" Sango nudged Kagome and she looked over at her friend. Kagome's reaction was priceless as it was both mixed with surprise and denial. Sesshomaru peeked from the trees and noticed the red cheeks blending with her pale skin.

"A-Ah, I don't think that's the case! He hates humans, remember?" Kagome tried to shake off the feeling, but she couldn't. Instead, she held onto it and kept it there. Sango chuckled and started to move around in the spring.

"Maybe, but he had Rin around him that whole time. He can't really hate something when he grew attached to something," Sesshomaru turned back to the forest and thought. For a moment, the woman was right. As much as he had been telling himself that he despised humans, he could only withstand a few at a time. Then again, he still hated the whole human population, so maybe that woman had been wrong.

Kagome became flustered and sunk down to the water. "W-Well, m-maybe he's just worried about Naraku attacking and hurting me," It was partially true. He had to protect her at all costs, no matter if it were Inuyasha or Naraku attacking her. Sango shrugged and started to step out of the springs; Sesshomaru did not move (in the corner of his eye, though, the monk was content).

"I don't know, now that Inuyasha's not interested in you, maybe you should be looking around?" Sango winked down to her friend and Kagome sunk deeper into the water. Sango wrapped her body around in the towel that Kagome brought and soon began to dress. Kagome didn't look over at her friend and continued to think about Sesshomaru. Was it true? Had he been attached to her because of her beauty? _Hardly_, she thought, _if he really wanted someone beautiful, he could probably look somewhere else for a demon woman to produce heirs. _

Sango grabbed her weapon. "Are you coming back, Kagome?" She looked up from the waters and shook her head. She wanted to, but was afraid someone would catch her blush. She hated being a woman sometimes, especially during the times when she thought of romance. Sango understood, though. "Alright, but don't stay here for too long. I would hate to see you get injured," Kagome nodded and watched her walk away.

Sesshomaru waited until the woman was far enough away before moving again. Could he get the woman to love him? Yes, he was the Lord of the Western Lands! He could have anything he wanted by just getting it by force! But what if she refused to love him? No, that can't be a possibility, right? He would refuse to think something like that and turned to the woman wading in the waters. The steam cleared his vision and his golden eyes peered from the night.

She lifted her head—the water droplets slid down her body like it was tempting him to go after her—and he heard her breath escape her mouth. He was enticed by her lips, actually. They stood out the most. But then she covered them with her mouth—she must've been in another thought. He was right, though, about being in thought. She started to talk to herself, too. "No, that'd never happen," she whispered. What wouldn't happen? Him loving her? It was possible, as nothing was impossible to a demon. She shook her head and started to laugh. "Silly me!" And into the water she went.

Her head disappeared from the hot water and he took this opportunity. He wouldn't dream of going in the water or heading toward her and revealing himself—he still feared this "pervert" that was so horrible. Inuyasha and the monk had already left, so he could move around. And with her being in the water she would not hear his footsteps. He would only move a few feet away from his original spot, but he'd have a better view of everything.

She came up from the water and he watched the water splash with her. She looked like a siren, if anything. Her hair was a little longer from being underwater, her skin was clean from anything that touched her before—she was pure. He hadn't realized how the human body looked so smooth before, and perhaps this was not the case with all women, especially those that he could not stand. He had never seen a body like that before! And at this moment, he really wanted to step into the springs and reveal himself. But another noise was heard before he moved and she turned around in fear.

"Who's there?" She was frightened. She slunk into the water more and her back was turned to him. He would probably get nothing more. Perhaps this was a pervert, wanting more than what they could handle. He was content with what he had seen and figured that her protection meant more than his pleasure. He would have what he wanted to consume soon enough. He would just have to take care of any unwanted visitors when she was around—rather, when he was around her.

0o0

This time around, he was waiting for her. Inuyasha had gotten into another fight with her some nights ago, and Inuyasha was still fuming over the fight. _"Kagome, where are you going! Naraku is bound to come out and fight us!" _Sesshomaru remembered the fight, and while it didn't last very long, it still hung in the clouded air. He remembered her voice: it was laced with so much anger that he didn't know where this anger came from.

_"Inuyasha, Naraku isn't around! I'm just going back home to get some supplies and food, that's all! What's your problem?" _Inuyasha did not like this idea and yelled right back at her. _"Because we've been in one place for months now! If it weren't for that stupid well of yours, we'd be far away from here! It's not like your family enjoys you coming home!" _Sesshomaru hated how she was being demeaned to something like that, like an item. Like he told her before, he would not treat her as such. She was a being just like him and Inuyasha; she deserved better. And she thought this, too, as she subdued him to Hell.

_"How can you say that? You know they enjoy my homecoming!" _Sesshomaru's ears were hurting from her voice, but he couldn't help but continue to listen. His brother was foolish after all, and he wanted to feel the pain she was feeling, too. _"Stupid mutt! I'm going home whether you like it or not!" _And away she went. Inuyasha didn't even try to stop her in the first place—he was too weakened by the blow she had given him. Sesshomaru followed her, so she would not be injured by any demons, and she fiercely went "home."

She had been gone for a few days now, and Sesshomaru was getting a little impatient at her disappearance. He only had the sky and a few villagers as company the past days now and he was still waiting for her arrival. The well was his back rest, the ledge was his pillow. He didn't sleep, he did not eat and he certainly did not get up during this time. Rest was a grand thing to have; Inuyasha was an idiot to wear a person's spirit down with constant battling. Even Sesshomaru had rest.

What would he do when she came back, though? Granted, his hunger had gotten worse since the hot springs incident. He had to take down numerous trees from the forest in order to control the thirst for her scent, her touch, her longing, her everything—it still did not help. It was not the same without her, as the sun was setting on that night. Sesshomaru eyed the moon that was cautiously hiding between the clouds and stars just forming and he was instantly brought back to her.

His hunger was out of control. He needed to eat something, have something, and enjoy everything. He needed that sweet taste, the sour note, the delicious bite, anything else humans call food. But he still didn't want food nor did he seem to like food in the first place. If she were around him at all times he didn't need to eat. He'd be full every day, from sunrise to sunset. So he called to her, even if he couldn't go between time, he still wished that she'd be there—perhaps this was loneliness. _How pathetic_, he thought. He really was turning into a human.

Suddenly, without warning, a bright blue light shined behind him. He leaned away from the well with wonder and stepped back. His nose twitched in delight—the girl was back. "Stupid Inuyasha, not even wanting to get me!" Sesshomaru heard her voice echo against the well walls. She was muttering to herself again and Sesshomaru had no idea why humans did this. Was it because their mind was incapable of holding an infinite amount of thoughts? Whatever the case, he was intrigued. He heard her moan in delight. "Ah, but it sure felt nice to be back home!"

_Home_, he thought. No, if she were to accompany him, she would have her home here, permanently. "I wonder how I'm going to get out," she said to herself again. Sesshomaru stepped forward and wanted to lean against the wood, but he wanted to see what she would do. Then, grunts and a bit of a struggle were heard. He had to look; what he found was surprising.

She was climbing the well wall. Most of the rocks that she stepped on soon left the dirt once her foot left, almost like they were guiding her up. She was struggling, yes, but it seemed like she knew what she was doing—had she done this before? He carefully glanced around the forest; there was nothing there. So he went for it. When she paused near the top of the well, she felt a hand wrap around her arm. Immediately, she thought the worst and thought she was going to die—or fall into a demon's trap and be held captive. So she started to panic as she was being lifted in the air.

"W-Wait! What are you doing!" She began to grab at anything in the well, but there really was nothing to grab onto in the first place. She kicked at the walls but only made thumping sounds as she kicked. Sesshomaru found it fruitless to try and escape his grasp, only because if she hit him hard enough, he'd let her go, and that would be a terrible thing. He lifted her with ease out of the well and she hung there above the dark hole. She looked down without noticing her captor and started to panic again. "A-Ah! Put me down, put me down!" So Sesshomaru complied.

She immediately felt her feet touch the ground and her captor's hand not leaving her arm. Slowly, her arm went back down to her side (Sesshomaru meant to put it down earlier, but holding her hand towards his nose was a delight) and she followed said hand to the person in front of her. She didn't have to look at the face to know who it was—she just wanted to know why, out of all the people she knew, it was him. She didn't want to look him in the eyes either (she tried this before and felt frightened by his own stare) and looked to the ground. She also tried to hide her blushing, too.

He noticed everything and _loved it_. He couldn't deny the fact that he could affect a creature like this, someone with this beauty and magic that tempted his soul to think everything but purity. But it wasn't his fault—it was hers. It had to be, because he didn't tempt himself to be impure or stir himself into a tizzy about a simple scent. And he looked down at the petite girl before him, wondering how she could do something like that. Had he just missed her scent from previous times while near? No, there was something else. And he wanted to know. He had to know. This knowledge had to be eaten to its fullest.

So he grabbed her other wrist and she looked at his hand. If he had to force the information out of the girl, he would—without torturing her, of course. She looked up at him next and he saw confusion floating in her eyes (she saw nothing in his, since she couldn't read him yet). Then he took a step forward while she a step backward. They worked in sync until she felt her knees give out while hitting the well. She suddenly was placed on the ledge of the well while staring into golden eyes. This wasn't the dull gold she was used to; this was pure gold, pure honey. And she couldn't look away.

Her breathing was becoming a little heavier and her hands were shaking from anxiety. The wood on the well was her safe spot as her fingers tapped away. Sesshomaru did not mind the noise as his thoughts were overpowering any other noise but her voice. "S-Sesshomaru?" He held back some whining from his beast and continued to stare in silence. He was leaning forward; she was leaning back. His hands tightened around her wrist and he didn't care about her circulation anymore. What was he doing?

His nose was going mad with the scent. "Why do you entice me?" he whispered to her. Kagome still stared with the same shock from before and didn't make any sudden movements. Was she doing something wrong? Had she been dressing differently that made even the Lord of the Western Lands growing with affection? No, he would not love her…would he? _No, I won't believe it! _But she hoped.

He continued to stare until she spoke. "H-How do I ent-" she felt his grip tighten even more and a low growl escape his throat. So, she had done something wrong. "W-Well, I apologize," she was blushing from embarrassment and bowed her head in respect. He still hated this—why was she treating him like a Lord when she could be treating him like a human being?

"Do not bow your head," he whispered to her. She rose it only to look at him; wasn't his pride the most important thing to him? "and answer my question," she wanted to avoid it, at all costs. What was she doing to make him so needy of her in the first place? Maybe she could ask him.

"What am I doing to you, Sesshomaru?" She whispered. He leaned forward and she couldn't move any more back unless she wanted to fall back into the well. His leg brushed against the inside of her thigh, dangerously close to her personal bubble to tell you the truth, and his other leg brushed against the outer part of her thigh. His stare did not falter, his hold did not loosen, and he certainly did not break the silence as easily as she thought he would.

"_Everything_," he said with such seduction that she almost missed the slight pain in his voice. How she wanted someone to come and rescue her! Where was Sango when she needed her? "And I'm _hungry,"_ he whispered again. At this, Kagome didn't know what to think. Was it because everything was getting a little blurry while sitting there with Sesshomaru? Maybe because it was getting warm and she couldn't handle the heat? Or was it because he still confused her with his mystery? She chose the latter.

"H-Hungry? D-Do you want something to eat?" He smirked—she had never seen him like this before—and he began to step away from her. His hold brought her to her feet and she was forced to follow him in the dark. Somehow, she trusted him and felt at ease around him, though. She had no idea how that happened, either. As he let go, for those seconds that dragged by, she kind of missed his touch. Was something happening that she was missing? Then she felt his arms wrap around her waist and her body being pushed against his. With his armor missing, it sure was nice to feel his stomach. Who knew he was that fit?

She had to place her hands on his chest without feeling awkward and still stared at him. She was nervous. Although she trusted him, she had a sense that she was going to die because he was "hungry" for something. Was he going to eat her? _Well, I've lived a good life,_ she thought to herself. His smirk was still on his face and his hold on her body became tighter. He _needed_ this. It wasn't like last time, when he had to save her and let her go. No, he would relish in the moment, trying to make everything right in his mind before continuing. And he did not care that it was getting darker by the minute or they would be standing there for minutes—he needed it.

Then he spoke. "Yes, _hungry_," he growled. The way her body was positioned against his body, though, he wanted to let one moan escape, thanks to his beast. But he maintained his composure somehow. "And it seems like I have found my meal," yes, his beast had taken over. He couldn't take it anymore—he knew it would be unbelievable if he had said it himself. He watched as she blushed tenfold and closed her eyes. She was fearing him for some reason, but he couldn't think of a reason why. Wasn't that a compliment for humans?

"W-Why me?" she whispered. He closed the gap between them and she had no idea. She could only feel the hot breath from his mouth entering her lungs.

"Why not," he replied back. She shivered at his voice—yes, she was sure she was going to die. She saw his eyes turning from longing into lustful, from golden to almost red. So she waited for death—maybe it was going to be quick after all. But Sesshomaru took the opportunity and went with it; hell, what could he lose? "_Kagome_," his beast growled as the gap was closed. There was no room, there was no crack or anything. He had finally did it: he was having his meal.

Kagome's eyes shot open and she felt his mouth pressed against hers, almost possessively. _A-A-A-A kiss? _Her hands unconsciously closed themselves and she tugged on his kimono; he took this as an opportunity to have more. And he wanted it so much. She tasted like he dreamt, like it was Heaven on Earth without having the pleasure of dying. Oh, he sought this taste for ages and he had finally gotten it. He finally achieved his goal. Now his next goal was getting over her taste. He already wanted more. No he had to have more. Her lips were perfect for his, almost like he had just found his soul mate. Everything was perfect, and everything was just right.

"O-Oi you bastard! Get off of her!" Sesshomaru's eyes shot open and Kagome noticed his golden eyes suddenly becoming red. He was being set off by being disrupted. Sesshomaru slowly lifted himself off of her (although he did not want to at all) and sharply glanced at him. Kagome, too, looked over at Inuyasha and sighed with relief. _Y-Yes! S-Someone has saved me! _But was she really relieved? Sesshomaru held her tighter, as if he was demanding her to stay with him, and growled. Inuyasha, too, growled.

"_Leave,_" Sesshomaru's voice was laced with fury and possession. Kagome looked up at him and saw his features changing, the most obvious were his eyes and his teeth. Had she done this much to him? But it only lasted maybe five seconds! What would happen if they _were_ romantically together? She shook the thought away and looked back at Inuyasha. He was still growling and still wanting to kick Sesshomaru's butt for touching her like that. Another fight was inevitable.

"You need to let go of her! She doesn't want you!" Kagome fumed at this comment.

"You don't know what I want!" Inuyasha scoffed and started to fight with her. Sesshomaru hated this, as she was supposed to be treated with the utmost respect, not being abused by a pathetic half-demon.

"Keh! I know you don't want him!" She groaned.

"And what if I did want him?" _Did_ she want him? Sesshomaru hoped; Kagome pondered. Inuyasha was taken aback by this and, from anger, he turned his back to both of them.

"Fine! If you want him, you can have him! Maybe I won't have to deal with the both of you now!" And he began to walk away. Kagome began to panic as he started to drift away. As much as she really wanted to leave his group, she didn't want it to end like that. Kagome started to struggle against Sesshomaru's grasp; he looked down at her.

"W-Wait! Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru had to: he let her go. Kagome pushed away from his body and ran away from him. Before she took off, though, she turned around and bowed. "I'm sorry, Sesshomaru!" Then she left him still standing by the well, still with the taste on his lips. He had to let her go because he wanted her to have whatever she wanted. And if she wanted to be with Inuyasha now, he was okay with this. His beast, though, had other ideas and started to thrash around the well. Kagome still ran through the forest, but she heard both Inuyasha's wonder and Sesshomaru's cries. What had she done?

He had gotten his meal and loved the taste. He couldn't get enough of it; he wanted _more_.

**Edit: Someone else mentioned when this was taking place. I hated how they left Rin in Kaede's village and how Naraku died. So lame. So I am just going on another tangent. It's right before Naraku dies, pretty much, only now Rin and Jaken are gone and Inuyasha and Kagome are not going to do it like in the manga. So really, I'm not following the manga or the anime 8D /edit over**

**Ending is supposed to make you think about the next sin, buuuuut I might change it, ha-ha. Not sure.**

**ANYWAY, yeah, Gluttony. What a hard chapter to write. I hate Gluttony to begin with, because you don't know what to write about in the first place. So I went with his hunger for Kagome's body/lips/anything else that he wanted to touch. And boy, I edited this chapter a lot before coming to this work of art. Not proud, I'll tell you that much.**

**Someone mentioned Sesshomaru being OOC late in the previous chapter (Envy). I'll agree with one line that I wrote, the "Will you stay with him now?" line. Looking back, he probably wouldn't say something like that. So now in THIS chapter, we have something to blame for his OOC: the Beast. The Beauty can never tame the Beast, after all.**

**And I'm making Inuyasha such a jerk. He's having the sins, too. Oh! Sesshomaru and Kagome will be having a real conversation next chapter. None of this hiding crap anymore! Well, probably some hiding in the beginning, but they'll finally have one conversation together! Oh man, I can't wait to write it. **

**The next sin, it won't be up until I update Blossoms. I haven't started on that chapter yet, and I need to because my updating day is coming up on Friday. Boo.**

**So, review! I'd love to hear some feedback from all of you readers 8) And thank you for reading! I can't thank you guys enough.**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**

_Next sin: either Greed or Lust_**  
**


	4. Lust

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Sin #4: Lust**

**NOTE: Chapter's pretty long.  
**

Feral eyes peered from the dark miasma leering over the sky. He would only be there for a few minutes, if time permitted him to have just that. He was interested in the well that brought the girl down and back again; should he destroy the well the girl would never destroy him.

But what were the chances of having a pure angel be by his side come by again, especially when he knew nothing but power? But he was hungry with lust, aching and crying for her body next to his. It was short-lived as a powerful demon entered the area and he had to vanish. And so he disappeared.

The memory of the girl on his mind did not.

0o0

_It was like the world was ending right before her eyes—humans and demons locked in a never-ending battle. The field they were on burned in flames. Dozens of trees had fallen in the past minute because of the fighting. The sky was nothing but black smoke due to the fires that have been burning and the miasma falling from the sky. And from that miasma, more demons would reign down on humans and more blood would be spilt._

_ Kagome was in the back of the pack with other priests and priestesses. She would try her best to purify as much as possible before possibly ending her own life. She was running low on arrows; it was hard to breathe and hard to see due to the miasma around her and her fallen comrades. Her hand tried to keep some of the miasma away from her lungs, but it was getting to be too much—soon, she'd become unconscious and become vulnerable to any attacks. _

_Her body couldn't stand anymore. She had to lean against her own bow and wait for the inevitable. Her breathing was becoming heavier, her sight was getting blurry, and her mind was cloudy from thoughts of surviving. Other priestesses and priests put barriers around themselves and didn't seem to be tired from their powers. Why couldn't she do that?_

_The others were panicking. With their barriers, why were they afraid? She could hear everyone screaming and yelling to one another about what to do, but all she saw was their vicious deaths come one by one, each having their barriers being ripped apart. This demon was quick, each of the humans having their torsos being sliced down the middle. And as they all fell, Kagome feared for her own life._

_Soon, the demon stopped next to her, just standing there. Kagome only looked at his legs, due to how she was leaning against her bow, and had no strength to look at his face. It was getting to be too much. Soon, her bow started to lean and she sat on her knees. Her body slumped forward and she looked to the ground, her bow at her side. The demon next to her turned to her—she was sure she was going to die. _

_Instead, he knelt down next to her and she moved her eyes to him. What was he doing? "You are dying," she nodded. _

_"Yeah," she whispered. She looked out to the battlefield—he did as well. "I am no help, so I might as well," she whispered again. It was getting difficult to breathe. The demon turned to her and she smiled. "I am no help," she repeated. Kagome closed her eyes and listened to the chaos around. She could hear some people around yelling at her to get away from the demon next to her, but she knew he was harmless._

_"You cannot die," the demon whispered. Kagome let her eyes open a little bit and she saw the demon in front of her now. Was he blocking her view so she could not reflect on the battle ahead? _

_"I can," she whispered, "because I will not be saved. I am no hero," she closed her eyes again and listened to everyone around. On one side, it was a screaming agony from humans. On another, it was demons crying in pain from their loss._

_"Nor am I," the demon whispered, "Kagome," the demon said to her. She slightly opened her eyes and noticed a golden stare peering into her own eyes. She knew who it was: it was him. It had always been him. "I am here to protect," she wanted to say something, but she couldn't. Instead, his lips concealed her voice and she closed her eyes once more. How wonderful it felt for one more time, just to feel the lips of a man._

_Her strength was slowly coming back. Was he an antidote to the miasma? Or was he sucking it out of her? She didn't know—it was strange. She didn't care; somehow, this feeling of him being around…calmed her. It was like he was soothing her pain away, although it was clear that she was still dying. His hand grabbed her shoulders, almost possessively, and she brought her hands on his knees. If the humans and demons wanted to see how they could live in harmony, it would be with them. But it wouldn't last long._

_He felt something pierce his stomach and she felt his pain. Her eyes opened and he pulled away: a human had stabbed him with their sword. The human took the sword out and she noticed how the demon's eyes became red like blood and growled. It wouldn't be long until the human was dead. And Kagome sat on the ground, watching as the one she thought was her lover started to bleed to death. She reached out to him and suddenly felt pain of her own._

_Another demon had ambushed her and multiple tentacles had stabbed her chest. She looked down and knew who it was—there was no hiding it. Her heart was coming to a stop, her blood dripping on her legs, her lungs giving up as they started to convulse from the pain. Kagome looked up at the demon that had tried to save her before and his stare did not change—it was still the blood red eyes and his fangs were no different, either. The demon took his tentacles out from her and she couldn't hold on. She had too many holes, too many wounds. It was enough._

Kagome's eyes opened. She gasped in pain as she came out of her dream. _What the…_ she thought as she closed her eyes again in wonder. _Why do I keep dreaming about this? I don't want to dream! _She sighed and looked in front of her—everyone was asleep, probably having a good dream, and here she was, having nightmares. _I wouldn't call them nightmares, but I don't want to have them! _

Kagome could not get the kiss out of her mind, even if it had been a week since the incident. It wasn't the kind of thing that she wanted to worry about, honestly. Since when did he want to have her? Why was he after her? _Ah, this is so confusing! _She started to thrash around in her sleeping bag and Inuyasha looked at her like she was having a nightmare. _I don't know what to do! Oh mom, you'd have the answers._

"Kagome? Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked her. She didn't hear him; she was still contemplating on what had just happened in her dream. _Okay, calm down, it was just a dream. It didn't happen. Well, the kiss did, but that's not the point here! _She started to worry—about everything.

Kagome watched the dying embers drift with the wind. To be fair, she wasn't the type to play off that kiss in the first place. No, she kept the feeling of his lips connected to hers—at this point she was blushing—and continued to replay the memory over and over again. It was the feeling somewhere in her heart, she could feel it, but she couldn't place it at all. She had never felt this way before; why was this happening now?

"Kagome?" Someone whispered to her. This wasn't the whisper she was looking for, the one she remembered. _"Kagome,_" she drifted out of her thoughts and turned to the person. _Is he here?_ It was Inuyasha, the other silver-haired person she knew. Her grip on her sleeping bag loosened (she had her face covered because of the blush). "Were you having a nightmare?" She sat up and carelessly looked at him.

The feeling died away when she looked at him. Of course, she was in love with the man when she was younger, when she was always around him. But it just never felt right when they were alone. His mind was always on Kikyo, even when she passed away. She'd always be compared to her, no matter if they were to live twenty years down the road—he'd still say Kikyo in his sleep instead of Kagome. So she had to move on, only because Inuyasha told her to. _"I'm still in love with Kikyo, Kagome. You know that." _

She shook her head. "No, I-I was just thinking, that's all." Inuyasha scrunched his nose up and grunted. She knew what he was thinking: it was about _him_. She couldn't even think his name without blushing like a ripe tomato. _I cannot say his name in my thoughts? _

"Keh. I don't see why you think about him. He doesn't deserve anyone at all," she frowned. Was that his outlook on his own brother? What if someone said that about him? "If it were me, I'd tell him to go fu-" Kagome caught his nose twitching and he turned to the forest. If that weren't enough, a fearsome growl emitted from Inuyasha's throat. Kagome looked in that direction but couldn't find anyone there.

"What are you-" Kagome noticed his features changing.

"Speak of the devil," he whispered. Kagome hid her face again. _Oh no, not him, not him!_ She shut her eyes and pretended to fall asleep. It was blatantly obvious that she wasn't asleep, but she could've fooled anyone with a fool's eye. And he wasn't the type to have one. _My luck is really running out, _she sighed as she waited for the fight to commence.

0o0

Sesshomaru watched. He had to. There was no going back after what he did with her, to her, against her…god he loved it all. How he strived to get more of what he had tasted, how much he wanted her against his body again to just feel it all. His heart was pounding for this dream to have her again. He had to have her. It was unlike him to ever kiss a single person, but with her, it was different. It was like he was kissing an angel while having his sins purified from within. Was there anything better than that?

She was dreaming about something fierce—her eyes continued to twitch and her movements were struggling with something. He hoped she was dreaming about him, because he always dreamt about her. His latest dream—he sometimes smiles inside while thinking about her voice screaming in ecstasy—was something no demon would ever know about. He would be the only one to know, unless she somehow started to love him the way he did.

Was this love? Maybe he was just in heat, maybe it was just his beast wanting a companion after wandering for centuries with no mate in tow. Sesshomaru had tried to dismiss the feeling of this love but he couldn't. If he went too far away from her, he would start to worry and wonder about her. So he would run back and see her safe and sound under her blanket (he had no idea what it was that encased her) while she slept. 

It was love, right? He had to find out—he had to ask her herself. He was not afraid of the girl or her words. He needed to hear her voice again anyway. It was seductive enough to have his beast moan in delight and his mind was clear from worry. It was a good feeling—almost like it pleased him. That, and he was determined to have her body against his and to have his beast pleased.

He saw Inuyasha staring right at him and the girl on the ground, blushing from the thought of him coming. He heard her voice: "What are you-" it was replaced with a foul growl, a disgusting vermin sitting next to her. She didn't need to live with filth. No, she deserved the world.

"Speak of the devil," the other voice snarled. Sesshomaru couldn't help but notice how his beast reacted. How he wished he could just transform into his dog form and bite his half-brother's head off. But he couldn't do that. Not in front of her—she'd never love him. The girl started to panic (she was tossing and turning in her blanket and had her back to him) as Inuyasha prepared for a fight. Sesshomaru didn't want to fight, but if it had to come down to that, he would fight for her. He would fight to the death if he had to.

God, how she laid there pained him. "Oi! What the hell do you want!" It wouldn't last, with the half breed around, but the way she laid so still, trying to sleep as peacefully as possible. He wanted her in his arms. Was he stubborn? Perhaps this was the dawn of a new era for him. His half-brother started to growl and the sword came out. Sesshomaru did not want to fight still. "You better stay away from us!" Sesshomaru turned to him.

"Know your place, half-breed, for I am not here for you," he turned back to the girl and dreamlessly thought about what she was thinking at the time, and how she looked. Her scent was different. It was not the cherry blossoms he had remembered, but it was the lavender scent that his mother had given him when he was a child. _"Lavender is the scent for the heart. It does wondrous things when someone is in love." _At the time, it was a waste of air to say something like that. But now, it thrilled him to smell this scent.

Inuyasha blocked his view from the girl as she started to turn around. How he wished to see those eyes longing for him; how he wanted to hear her voice call to him, beckon every part of his love to her; how he lived to feel her against him. Sesshomaru turned to his half-brother; was he just as possessive of this girl like he was? No, it was impossible. Then, he saw the girl rise from the ground and it pained to see her touch Inuyasha like _that_—even a careless touch would mean the world.

"Inuyasha, stop," she whispered to him. Sesshomaru looked stoic on the outside—well, for the most part, as she started to reason with the half-breed. Kagome turned her attention to him—the way her eyes connected with his own made his heart pound. Sesshomaru couldn't help it: his fingers were itching to touch her. "He doesn't mean harm," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Like hell he isn't! He wants to kill you!" Kagome fumed at this comment and she felt slightly angered at him. _Every time a man actually takes a liking to me, and you have to feel jealous! _A simple slip of the tongue sent him to the ground and Sesshomaru saw the fire in her eyes. It was a careless thought to think about her eyes, but god, the way she looked made his insides burn. Inuyasha mumbled something in the dirt to distract Sesshomaru, but he only cared about her. She looked back at him—and she could not help but blush.

"U-Um, is there something you need, Sesshomaru?" She was nervous, no doubt. _Oh, why is he here! _Sesshomaru said nothing. Instead, he took in the sweet sound of her voice calling to him, the delicate flower that stood before him. Kagome stepped closer to him and asked again what he was there for. He let his feet turn him around and all he said to her was:

"Come."

0o0

Kagome didn't know where he was taking her—for all she knew, it was going to be some lustrous night out and she was going to be taken by this handsome, gorgeous man. _Not to mention his voice…ah, stop thinking that! _But although she kept telling herself such things, she couldn't help but feel almost excited at the fact that she was going to be alone with him. _Maybe this is me panicking. _Then again, a sudden uneasiness hit her and she began to really panic. 

She continued to follow him—why were they going towards the well?—until he suddenly stopped by a random tree in the forest. It held no significance to Sesshomaru but it was far away enough from the group where they would not be heard. She was not paying attention, as she usually acted when in deep thought, and ran into his back. The moment she made contact with him, he swiftly turned around to see her stumble back a few inches. She stopped herself and muttered an apology under her breath.

How she looked under the moonlight stunned him. He had never felt more attracted to her than when she was under the moon. Her lips slightly trembled (she was scared) while standing there; her pale skin glistened with the light; the chocolate eyes held curiosity; the color on her cheeks enticed him. Hell, he didn't need to ask if he was in love, he knew. But he brought her out into the forest with a purpose; he'd use it to his advantage.

Kagome felt his stare a little uncomfortable and she started to play with her fingers—by bringing them in front of her eyes. Twirling them around, she didn't have the uneasy feeling to deal with (although she could still see his eyes sparkle in the night). "S-So," she muttered. He cocked his eyebrow in content. "what is it that you need, Sesshomaru?" He wanted her to speak louder, hell, scream at the top of her lungs! His beast bit inside of his mouth, wanting nothing but the sweet taste of her coursing through its veins.

"I am in need of assistance," Kagome nodded and continued to distract herself, only now the eyes were bugging her even more. Was he staring at her with love in his eyes? Or was this nothing but attraction? She took precautionary actions: she placed her hands over the lips he longed for the whole time. Sesshomaru was a little confused at this notion and couldn't help but look in confusion. "You are in no trouble, Kagome," she felt her heart beat faster, "You may take your hands away from your mouth," but she refused.

She shook her head. "N-No, it's okay, they're fine here," Sesshomaru knew why she had them there, but it was still a mystery as to why she would reject him.

"Why do you hide in fear, then?" Kagome swallowed anything and everything in her and she continued to speak.

"Because you might…uh…" she stopped and slunk deeper into her chest. She couldn't bring herself to speak about the kiss: she just couldn't! She bit the bottom lip and looked back up at Sesshomaru; his stare ate at her spirit. _God, _she thought. Kagome tried to bring the conversation a different direction. "Y-You require my assistance?" Sesshomaru nodded, although he was a little disappointed at the change the conversation took.

"It is something you humans understand," She straightened her neck out and tilted her head in wonder. Although her mouth was covered, he could still see her lips moving.

"Really? What is it?" Sesshomaru intrigued her—this was a start. Now all he had to do was to get her to uncover her mouth. Sesshomaru, though, did not reply and both stood in silence. This let her relax a bit under his company and observe him in the moonlight. It really suited him, especially with his silver hair cascading down his back. His pale skin shined with the darkness that enveloped half of his body due to the leaves above; his eyes—god, his eyes—they shone like the sun during the day: he was the parallel to night. This initial shock with his looks made her lower her arms down to her sides. "Sesshomaru?"

He struck. With his speed, there would be no way she could react fast enough to dodge—and this was true. She only felt someone grab her arm while the wind spun her into an unknown direction. And while she tried to scream, the wind would only carry her voice to a void; even the moon would not be able to hear her cries for help. Her back slammed against the tree they stood under and she closed her eyes in pain. As soon as she did, though, she felt a body lean against her.

The hand that held her arm made its way to her chin and she felt her head tilt upward. She knew, but she opened her eyes in shock. The golden eyes that she admired were staring at her with something swirling around the honey color. Her breathing was quickening as she started to feel different. It was nothing she had felt before, something that even Inuyasha never did with her. She tried to speak, but she couldn't find her voice—she always liked Sesshomaru's voice a lot more. "Is this love I feel?" His stoic voice carried into her ears and she couldn't find her voice still.

"U-U-U-Uh…w-w-w-what…" her thoughts were scrambled, her voice could not think of a sentence. She saw him smirk and her heart started to beat faster and faster. She had to blurt something out, and she scrambled for one coherent thought. "What did I do for l-love?" she asked him. _Good thinking, Kagome, _she thought as she saw the smirk still there. He was close to her and, god, how her lips were so close to his! He wanted to ravish every part of her, everything that she offered—from her lips down below the waist.

He continued to hold her chin and she left her arms at the side. She knew better than to disrupt him when he wanted something, especially after what happened to Inuyasha during the well incident.Sesshomaru looked into her eyes. "Everything," he said to her. Was that a bad thing, though? Had "everything" been something he never wanted? No, this was what he had been seeking all along, ever since her existence came to pass. And god, he loved it.

This feeling, whatever it was, was about to explode. And the moonlight certainly did not help as it seemed to hit everything he desired. "Y-You," she whispered. He felt his beast whine from the attraction. "w-won't…" he knew what she was going to ask.

"Is _that_ a problem?" She felt her face heat up in embarrassment.

"W-Well, I thought you…uh…h-h-hated me?" He leaned forward, almost to the point of finally feeling her against him, and she slightly closed her eyes—in fear, as she told herself.

"Hatred runs not in my veins," his beast stated the obvious; he started to close his eyes as well, noticing hers slightly moving down, "never for you, _Kagome_," there was his whisper again! God, if she weren't leaning against the tree, her legs would've given out by now! Where was Inuyasha when she needed him again? Why wasn't he coming for her? And why didn't she want Inuyasha to come now? It didn't matter: her lips were sealed.

He finally did it: he kissed her again. God, he felt so alive while kissing her! And his beast moaned from the ecstasy he tasted. He only wished for the taste of her lips, of her mouth, of everything, and this was the first step. She, too, felt something strange about her feelings. Although she closed her eyes in fear that he would kill her if her eyes _were _open, it was like she wanted more of this feeling. She was being stubborn again.

His hold on her chin stayed as he took in every taste that he could. It began to loosen as they held their lips together, and he felt her skin smoothly run under the palm of his hand. She felt him rub against her cheek and many questions popped into her head: was this right? Was this supposed to happen? How did this start in the first place? She wanted to put her hands against his chest, but two hands stopped her.

Her eyes twitched. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she started to open her eyes. Something was wrong. Something was very, _very wrong: _there were no hands holding her arms down. The passionate kiss that kindled the fire stopped as she stared into the golden color she knew before the darkness. She tried to move her arms, but to no avail. Sesshomaru leaned away and noticed her worried look. When he pulled away, she looked downward and saw two things holding her back. "What is this?" Sesshomaru looked down and his eyes widened.

Then his eyes turned red. It couldn't be! When he looked up again, a pair of black and red eyes stared from the darkness. Kagome noticed more of them sprouting from the darkness and she knew as well: they were tentacles. A dark laugh carried in the night as Sesshomaru growled in fury. The laugh did not cease. "Amusing, the great Lord Sesshomaru loving a human girl," Kagome froze at the sound of the voice. Was this her dream all over again? "Tell me, can you not stand half-demons yet?"

Sesshomaru knew nothing but death as he reached for his sword. But as he felt it touch his palm, a tentacle was pointed at Kagome's throat. "If you love this wench so much," the voice commented. Kagome did nothing. "you will not take out your sword," Sesshomaru felt his arm tense in anger as the grip on his sword did not loosen. His red eyes stared into hers as she stared right back, worried that he would take out the sword to protect her. _"Have you someone to protect?"_

"You will let her go," another laugh came.

"I will do no such thing, for this girl…" one of the tentacles let one arm go. She looked down at it for a second before looking back at Sesshomaru. The only thing she knew how to do was to reach out for help—and so she did. She stepped towards Sesshomaru as much as she could; Sesshomaru saw her in danger and moved towards her, but something pierced his stomach. His hand grabbed her arm, but still did nothing as the wound began to grow. Kagome looked down at the horror and realized it had been her dream all along: he was being pierced by one of the tentacles.

"Sesshomaru!" She cried out. His blood dripped on the grass below and he saw her pain mask his. A chuckle echoed in the forest as the tentacle left Sesshomaru's body and wrapped around her waist. Now his blood was on her body, something that reminded him of the first day he fell in love. Sesshomaru felt a tentacle wrap around his arm that tried to grab her, so his attention was drawn to that instead. And as he sliced through it, his head turned back to Kagome. Only now there was a dark being next to her and she was struggling to survive.

The dark being smiled and Kagome continued to scream. Sesshomaru, for the first time in his life, felt helpless. Sesshomaru growled at the sound of this voice, "This girl is now _mine_," Sesshomaru felt nothing but fury towards him. His beast would have nothing of the sort—he charged at him. But as he took his first step, Kagome was brought against the dark demon and then vanished. All that was left to echo was her scream. _"Sesshomaru!"_

Sesshomaru did nothing but blindly run through the forest, looking for the lavender scent he had gathered. But there was nothing around to give him any signs. The girl he wanted, the girl he thrived for, was gone. Sesshomaru abruptly stopped and looked to the moon—it was being hidden by the clouds. Sesshomaru knelt to the ground in pain as the wound began to grow, but it did not settle the pain in his chest. His feral eyes stared into the darkness, looking for her—but found nothing. She was gone.

Sesshomaru knew he needed vengeance. He would ask for help, but it was his war now. This was his doing—he would get his property back, as it was taken by force. This was his battle and this was his blood. And he knew who did it: he had to cry out.

"Naraku!"

**This was tough. I have NO idea why, but it was one of the toughest chapters to write...for any of my stories. Although, I must say, that whole Kagome chapter in Blossoms sucked.**

**So, all three of them were feeling Lust, a few things of Greed here and there, and a hint of Gluttony. Next chapter will be FILLED with more Lust, a lot of Wrath, and some Greed. I can't wait for this to unfold!**

**Naraku is such a jerk. And yes, I'm a total fan of him liking Kagome like that. Just like in the Anime, I totally saw some sparks between him and her, although she thought he was disgusting. Sad, but he'll have her for one chapter 8) **

**Sorry for all of the sexual themes, too. Didn't mean to be TOO "M" rated, ha-ha.**

**Thank you for reading! If you have any questions about anything or would just like to comment on how I rock/suck, please review! That'd be awesome!**

**(After this, by the way, I'm doing another SessxKag thing, only it's longer and has nothing to do with sins! AWESOME!)**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	5. Wrath

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Sin #4: Wrath  
**

His wound was not helping his journey. He saw nothing but red, nothing but the hints of anger that was coursing through his heart, lungs, veins, anything and everything he had in him hidden in the trees. His bloody trail did not help him escape the demons trying to take his title of Lord of the Western Lands, either, but the quick ambush turned into a bloody war for the others. He hardly got a scratch, much less anyone touching him to begin with. It was just the gaping hole in his stomach that held him back and it was the one thing that was bleeding at the moment.

That, and his eyes. If Rin were around, he'd be terrified to show the girl any horror that he had been through. All of these trees, why were they there? He would rather tear them to pieces after that experience. His love—the one love that he had felt his entire life—was gone. She had been kidnapped, all thanks to someone that did not deserve anything like that. She was the essence of a saint; he was clearly a sinner. Just thinking about the bastard made his skin crawl and his heart urge for vengeance.

But he couldn't, not with the damned wound. At some parts of his journey, the blood would be too much and he'd feel a splash of it make its way through the dirt and into the grass. At other times, the pain would kick in and he'd feel his beast twitch with anxiety, knowing that it'd have its chance against the demon—no, it was a half-demon—sooner or later. But for now, the only thing on Sesshomaru's mind was the idea of getting to his destination without dying from blood loss. A demon Lord to die a pitiful death? Nonsense.

In the distance, there was a fire. And with this fire did he walk faster and faster towards the embers. He remembered this fire—not the fire that was fueling his aggression—and waited to see her sleeping by the fire. But he knew better than to hallucinate such things, and the sleeping bag was still empty. His beast whined, knowing that she wouldn't be there anyway. Why was he so hopeful? Was he starting to feel guilty that he couldn't help her?

_"Sesshomaru!" _Her scream pierced not just his ears, not just his beast, but the one thing he never trusted in the first place: his heart. Never had he felt compassion for a living creature until Rin, never did he feel remorse for someone like Kagome, and never had he felt such an intensity of love come from his own being than now. This scream, this one thing, he would've never thought about it again if it were in the past. Why, after all of these years, did she have to be the one that had all the hardships? Why, after all of these years, did he finally realize that even he could love a human?

It didn't matter; he just wanted someone's head after all of this. He'd think about everything and anything after this trivial _thing_ came to pass. In the clearing of the trees (something about the trees bothered him; maybe it was too dark to his liking) he saw people gathered around the fire: most were sleeping, and one was still sitting there. How would he explain this to him? Rather, did he even want to explain it to anyone? This was the first time he had failed in his life; he needed no embarrassment. But he continued to look at the sleeping bag, hoping and wishing that she'd be there to wake up.

_"Why are you so fascinated in me?" _His eyes turned to the half-breed on the ground, but his eyes did not change: they were still blood red, like his anger. He could hear Inuyasha's snarls and the dirt moving below—he was grinding his nails into the ground. But Sesshomaru paid no attention, not even at the humans stirring and waking up to both of them with red eyes. _"Actually, why are you saving me?" _He had no one else in the world that thought about him. He had no one to care about—he had to have someone near him, and these people, whoever they were, they were not going to care that he had been attacked. Sesshomaru saw Inuyasha rise from the ground (the humans muttered his name) and had his arms crossed.

"What the hell do you want now! Kagome didn't come back!" Sesshomaru came out from the forest and Inuyasha's eyes widened. "W-What the hell?" He covered his wound with his hand, but kept walking. The humans around rubbed their eyes from the light, wondering what was going on. Inuyasha, however, thought otherwise and stepped in front of the moving Sesshomaru. He couldn't help but growl at the half-demon's touch. It was already enough that a half-breed had demeaned him as a Lord, but now this? It was going a little far. "Where is she?" Sesshomaru tensed.

"Get away from me, half-breed," he growled back. Inuyasha did nothing and pushed him. Sesshomaru stared more into the eyes of Inuyasha and continued to growl; Inuyasha's grip on his shoulders did not loosen.

"What did you do to her, Sesshomaru!" Sesshomaru could feel his nails dripping with poison. If he would not move, Inuyasha would certainly get poison in his eyes. The humans looked on with horror and started to talk to both of them.

"Inuyasha!" Both of them cried out to him. He did not listen.

"Tell me, Sesshomaru! What did you do!" Sesshomaru growled again and charged at him. But because of his wound, he was a little slower than usual. He swatted his hand at Inuyasha, and he dodged; more blood poured onto the ground and both Miroku and Sango covered their mouths. Something was wrong, definitely wrong. Inuyasha was shoved to the side and had his hand on his sword. "Tell me!" When Sesshomaru moved past, he saw more blood on his back. There, Inuyasha's eyes widened even more.

Sesshomaru continued to move towards the other side of the forest, his breathing getting heavier and a lot faster than usual. Now he was fuming with anger and his beast wanted to go. "Stay away," he whispered to all of them. But as soon as that was said, he dropped to the ground on his knees. Sango was the first to move to Kagome's sleeping bag, and when she did, he turned his head in hope. Instead, it was just the other human that he did not care about—he hoped that it was her stirring in the bag, not being kidnapped. Then, the other human, the monk, knelt beside him.

"Lord Sesshomaru, what happened to you?" He saw a little demon—that fox demon that she always cared about, Shippo—pull his hands away from his wound and gasped at the sight of it all. More footsteps were heard and he figured it was Inuyasha walking up to him. He was right. He needed no pity from anyone; he just wanted to save her. He just wanted to leave and get her back. That was all he wanted. And if his anger was going to fuel this journey, so be it.

All he had to do to silence the whole group was speak one name: "Naraku." How much anger seethed from his teeth made them all terrified of him. Sesshomaru would not waste any time regretting this anger he felt for this man—if he had not felt this much anger for Naraku, it would've been his own mistake. Miroku looked down at Shippo, who was trying to figure out what to do with the wound, while Inuyasha started to cry out in his own anguish. Sesshomaru looked back at his half-brother and growled. "I need no one's help with this," and Inuyasha turned to him.

"The hell you won't! She's part of our group!"

"I am at fault. This is my battle, Inuyasha."

"I don't care!" Sesshomaru heard more rustling from the sleeping bag behind him and saw one more person kneel before him. It was the human girl holding something in her hands—the blood was getting worse as he sat there. She bowed her head in respect and he knew what she was holding.

"I have to take care of your wounds, Lord Sesshomaru, or else you won't get your revenge," he saw her place the items on the ground carefully. _"I hope your wounds heal, Sesshomaru."_ It was another bottle of that horrendous smelling stuff she had used on his previous wounds. His beast whined—Miroku and Sango both looked at each other in amazement—and he could do nothing but sit there while they took care of him. If only it were her hands again, touching his skin; if only her scent was next to him once more…

He had to hide his face.

0o0

Kagome stirred. Her head pounded—was she knocked out? No, she didn't feel any blood. All she knew was that she was on a hard floor, somewhere that was not where she was moments ago. Wait, had it been moments? It was daylight outside—how long was she asleep? _Where am I? _She opened her eyes and saw a ceiling above her. She couldn't have been in a hut somewhere—she remembered Naraku kidnapping her, but that was all she knew. Specks of light came and went and Kagome continued to look around. Slightly moving her head, she could only see that it was a normal room. So when she sat up she was surprised to find the one person she did not want to see sitting right there, staring at her.

How long had he been sitting there? _It must've been since I was brought here, whenever that was, _she thought as she continued to look at him. What did he want, exactly? "You finally have awakened, _Kagome_," she shivered. That wasn't the way her name was supposed to sound. That wasn't how it rolled off a tongue, not at all. "Tell me," he slightly moved, "did you enjoy the rest you were granted?" Granted? She didn't want to be resting! Kagome moved her legs and rose from her spot; it felt like her whole body was falling apart.

"Naraku," she muttered under her breath. He smiled. "What do you want with me?" He continued to stare at her with the malicious smile across his face and the same stare that he had since she stared back.

"What I want is foolish to some," without warning, he lifted himself off whatever he had been sitting on. Then the air started to carry him to her, and she froze. What was he doing? Was she going to die? No, she couldn't die, she still had to get the jewel away from him. Was he after the only shards that she had? Probably; that'd make sense. But he stopped right in front of her, planting his feet on the ground, and staring right into her eyes. "But I don't think it's the least bit of a fool's worry," what was he talking about? She shook her head and continued to look right at him.

"Where am I, then?" he blinked.

"Somewhere far away," she frowned.

"How long have I been here, then?" he smirked.

"Almost three days, or more. I lost count after the third sunrise," _Three days!_ Her eyes widened in shock.

"T-Then, why keep me alive? You could have the jewel shards, and the jewel would be complete," he grunted—or was that a laugh? She couldn't tell. "What's the point?"

"You," he whispered back.

"Me?" he nodded. "Why? I'm the one person you should fear, right?" he nodded again.

"I do, Kagome," there it was again, her name. She hated it now. "but it has nothing to do with fear," Kagome was confused again. _Then what's the point in keeping me alive! Geez, this guy is a pain in the neck! _Then, everything started to get cloudy. And it wasn't because he was standing there or because of the pain in her head, but it was literally getting cloudy. And this was no ordinary cloud. _M-Miasma? Is this…my dream? _She covered up her mouth from the smoke and all she could see through it all—her eyes were burning—was his smile. "Nothing at all," he murmured to her. His hand (nothing like a tentacle; just a normal hand) stretched to her wrist and tried to pull it away from her mouth.

"N-No! Stop!" She screamed at him; her strength was weakening. But she did everything she could to keep her mouth covered. Then, it hit her, literally. He slammed her against a nearby wall and pried her hands away from her mouth. There was no use. She was going to take in as much miasma as possible before falling unconscious. Was this his plan, just to make her unconscious again? _What a dubious plan, Naraku, _she sarcastically thought. She decided to scream again. "What do you want!"

He pushed on her wrists harder. "What the jewel cannot grant, dear Kagome," her heart was slowing down, her eyes wanted to close so much, and her breathing was getting heavier. It would only be a matter of time before she'd be in the darkness once more. She blinked; did he get closer? She couldn't tell, since everything was spinning at this point. "And what I wish for," he whispered on her lips. Her eyes were about to close, his as well. "is you," and she felt him press against her. He was violent, he was possessive, he was…not him.

_This isn't my dream. This isn't…Sesshomaru…_ she closed her eyes, slowly drifting into the darkness. The kiss was nothing like a kiss she had—which wasn't saying much. He bit on her lip, his nails embedded into her skin, and she could taste blood drip on her skin (she didn't know if it was hers or not). Her breathing was slowing down, knowing that it wasn't him at all. She could feel Naraku pull away from her, and before she turned to the darkness for comfort, she heard the last words she'd hear for a while:

"You're _mine._"

0o0

He was dashing through the trees. He didn't care about the stragglers that were behind him now; they were his army for this battle. They had no need to battle with him, for this was his fault, this was his anger to deal with, and this was what had to be done. His hands itched for blood, and it was no ordinary blood that he wanted. _"Tell me, can you not stand half-demons yet?"_ He could stand minimal time with half-breeds, but this certain type of half-demon did not deserve the same air he had. Just thinking about him made him dash in his direction.

It had been four days since she had left his side, and his beast needed her scent. It had scurried around for anything that had smelt like her, tasted like her, hell, he even tried to find something that sounded like her too. It was like she was his addiction—he could never get enough of what she brought him. It was bad enough when she jumped through the well and left for days on end—but she'd always come back. For all he knew, she could've been dead and tossed somewhere for ravenous demons to eat. _Impossible,_ he thought as his beast blindly turned corners.

He didn't know where or how he'd find Naraku and her; it was going to be based on luck. There were few scents here and there from the trail Naraku had made, but it was nothing more than a faint scent. Not even her smell—the divine lavender that most likely had disappeared—was anywhere to be found. Where was she? Was she okay? Had he killed her? How would all of this play out? What if this was one of Naraku's traps? Sesshomaru could not stop thinking of the negatives and continued on his quest to find her. "Oi! Sesshomaru, slow down!" Sesshomaru could not stop; not even when there were mindless demons blocking his path.

So, he _was_ going in the right direction. He had doubts that this trail would lead nowhere and he'd never see Kagome again. Inuyasha and the others, as harmless as they were, prepared for battle and Sesshomaru stormed through. His beast took over his animalistic side and tore through parts of the line with one swipe of the sword. His pride would not be bested by these fools, these creatures that meant nothing to him. They were only adding more fuel to the fire, still creating the anger that singed through everything else in the world.

Inuyasha and the others took time with their kills; he did not care. Some of the demons were retreating, however, and Sesshomaru used them to find the location of her whereabouts: an abandoned castle on the border between the Eastern and Western lands. It had been his father's home for the human woman before she had passed away due to old age and complications from that. Why he had shackled Kagome into this home, he could not say. Was it because she was human, and the irony of it all was that he hated Inuyasha's mother? _Clever, _he thought as he leapt in the air.

He did not care if he left his army behind.

He did not care if there were demons trying to attack him.

He did not care about the sun beating down on his body.

He cared about her.

That was all.

Slamming through the castle's ceiling, it was a deadly silence in the area. The demons outside did not make too many sounds to distract him from finding his objective. A heavy amount of miasma had been in this place; there were hints of the scent in this room. Sesshomaru began to look around without much thought about it. Had he been in this room before? It had things from his past in here, probably from his father, and it had accumulated dust over time. There was no time for this, either—he had to get to her.

With his sword did he tear down numerous doors to find them. All over the place, there were smells from the half-demon, but there was nothing for him to enjoy. There was no lavender scent to take in, no cherry blossoms blooming early—it was just a half-breed trying to destroy him. As he went closer to the woman's room, the scent got stronger and stronger; even the smell of miasma had gotten stronger, although the miasma had been long gone.

So with a swipe, the walls dissipated and Sesshomaru stood in a long hallway. He was facing the Eastern lands from the windows in this room; there was a bed on one side and a dresser on another; scattered clothing had been ripped apart, perhaps by his doing. But none of that mattered: his red eyes scanned the new smoke for the half-demon. And in the smoke there was a dark shadow, presumably staring and smiling on the bed.

"So you have come, Sesshomaru," Sesshomaru growled and watched as the shadow began to move. The shadow stood by the bed this time and looked in his direction. "Although, I must say," a tentacle shot out across the room; Sesshomaru did not look. A faint gasp shot in the air as he snarled. "for a Lord, you care not for your possessions as much as you should. Tell me, did your wound," Sesshomaru felt his scar begin to hurt, "affect your ability to defend?"

"You know well enough to never fight a Lord, Naraku," this voice—yes, she had recognized it from somewhere. But she did nothing to move or acknowledge her presence. Naraku smiled.

"Every demon has its flaw," Sesshomaru gripped his sword tighter.

"You are no demon, worthless half-breed," before Sesshomaru could find a way to attack him, Naraku shot another tentacle; another gasp had been created. This time, Sesshomaru followed him to what he was hitting. The smoke had cleared; Sesshomaru's eyes widened.

"I would not attack if I were you right now. Even a Lord knows not to risk precious lives for one battle," the tentacles sped back to its owner and Sesshomaru could only stare. If he had been a human, or maybe a half-breed, he would've dropped his sword and panicked; his eyes would be filled with tears; his jaw would've slightly dropped. Instead, his red eyes stared with horror at the sight he had to witness; what had he done?

Kagome was slumped against the beaten down dresser—numerous holes had been created around her body—with blood forming around her legs. Her knees were bent, her head looking at the ground, her eyes slightly open to see what had been going on. Her arms were bruised, her legs cut from what was most likely the tentacles, her face was covered in dirt and grime, and her neck now had two fresh wounds bleeding. God, his heart was racing, pounding, aching, whatever else it could do. And when she looked up, it did nothing but cause more pain and sorrow.

Her eyes, they were like a void now. They were red from crying; the color in her eyes had faded just a little bit; her lips were cut and chapped from everything; her mouth was slightly open from having trouble breathing. Her lips were trembling—she wanted to speak. "S-S-Sesshomaru …" it was too much. Her eyes were closing and the miasma's poison was kicking in again. She was teetering on death's door, and he needed to act. When she fell unconscious, he looked back to Naraku.

"So what will it be?" Sesshomaru did not need to think twice. He had one shot at this, and if he failed, he'd never let it down. He pushed down on the ground and jumped to the room; Naraku shot out numerous tentacles at Kagome. Sesshomaru, however, swung his sword and cut however many of them had sprung from his body. When he landed, he hovered over her body in protection. Looking back with one glance, he cursed himself for having a wound in the first place; he'd make everything right. He looked back at Naraku, who had prepared for battle himself.

"Your head," Sesshomaru muttered before leaping towards his enemy. The battle would not last long, as he thought it would be—hell, he wouldn't really remember most of it, either. It just contained a lot of diversion attacks towards her and cheap shots that Naraku sometimes had up his sleeve. But Sesshomaru had one goal in his mind and he would do everything in his power to achieve just that, even if it meant using all of his power.

Slice by slice, piece by piece, the castle started to fall. More of the boards in the ceiling tore through the battle and some of the rooms had been utterly destroyed. More of his past had been shattered, but Sesshomaru did not stop. He would not—no, he literally could not stop. His beast had taken control of every part of his body, of everything that had been his soul, of all the things he could think about. It was enraged at this half-demon, the angriest it had been in a long time. _"Have you someone to protect?"_ Naraku had no chance.

And as he continued to cut away at him, Sesshomaru could not stop thinking about her and how this all started. _"Why are you saving me?" _It was because of his love. _"What am I doing to you, Sesshomaru?" _She was changing him. How was it that a normal human being could do something like that to a Lord? It was inconceivable, but it was never impossible. _"It's Kagome." _The one name that rolled off his tongue every time he said it: Kagome. And that's what drove him over the edge.

It was because of her that formed this anger. He was possessive, much like normal dogs, and he needed to protect his owner. Although she was no owner, she was the next best thing: he was the alpha male, she must be the alpha female. And if anyone, _anyone,_ tried to take that away from him, well, it would end with a battle, and he was not the type to lose.

Kagome opened her eyes for a few seconds and looked at the fight before her. _Sesshomaru,_ she thought as she watched him struggle against many tentacles. If she could, she'd give her power to him, just to beat Naraku. But she couldn't move, she couldn't do anything; she could only watch. _"Is this love I feel?" _More cuts came and went on Naraku's body, more blood dripped onto the ground all over the place, more of the walls came down, and she only focused on Sesshomaru. She coughed for a second, then fell back into the darkness.

Sesshomaru knocked Naraku down to the ground, eyes glaring at the half-breed gasping for air, and bared his fangs. His beast had never reacted like this before—this was all new to him. Naraku smiled. "So she had changed you like she did for me," the half-demon chuckled in amusement. Sesshomaru clenched his jaw.

"You are nothing like me," Naraku nodded at this comment.

"Nothing like a demon Lord in love?" Sesshomaru snarled. Naraku continued with his speech. "You have softened like your father did to that human woman, the wench that stole your childhood away," Sesshomaru noticed how Naraku rested his head against the ground and he _smiled_. "I cannot blame you."

Sesshomaru wasted no time; the head of Naraku was obliterated and the body began to fade away. How had it been this easy? Was it because of that girl? Perhaps he, too, was softened by her presence. "There was no blame to be made," he muttered as he noticed something sparkle. The jewel remained as the body rotted away and Sesshomaru bent down to look at it: it was still incomplete. The jewel shards remained in the little bottle Kagome had for them and Sesshomaru knew why. Naraku had gotten his wish out of sheer willpower, and he was content without the jewel. While Sesshomaru admired that little aspect from the half-demon, he did not care.

Inuyasha and the others hurried over to Sesshomaru, already beaten up from battle. Shippo ran next to the jewel and the shards and scanned over them. "For a guy that wanted these, he never used them in the first place!" Inuyasha ignored the comment and stared at Sesshomaru.

"Where is she?" Sesshomaru's red eyes began to fade away, much like his anger, and he glanced into the other room. Sango and Miroku, already exhausted from battle, gazed over to where Sesshomaru glanced and saw her fading away. They couldn't stand to see her injured like that! It was a cruel thing! Shippo dropped everything in his hands—the jewel, the shards, everything—and ran over to her.

"Kagome!" They all yelled; only Shippo screamed. Inuyasha ran over to her body and knelt down in her blood. How could this have happened? He wanted to cry—what if she was going to die? Sesshomaru casually walked over to her (although he wanted to limp from the pain received) and stared at her. It had been his fault all along; he didn't protect her. Sango and Miroku stayed back, due to the fact that she was in terrible shape to begin with. Shippo was already crying.

The little demon was nudging her arm, trying to wake her up while calling to her. Sesshomaru noticed her heavy breathing and her chest rising and falling at a fast rate. He knelt by her side, opposite of Inuyasha's, and stared long at her face. How it mimicked the pain she was feeling. If he only had reached her a little sooner, none of this would've happened. _So, there is blame,_ he thought as he continued to look at her.

She felt people near her, another touching her skin and nudging at her limbs, and Kagome opened her eyes. First, she saw her little fox-demon right by her side, crying his eyes out. Then, she saw two silver-haired people on each side of her, one with red clothing and the other with red and white. She looked to the one with the red clothing first. "Kagome!" Inuyasha cried out. Everyone looked at her face and saw her frowning. She didn't respond and she looked over at the one that had saved her. _"I am indebted to your life" _echoed in her mind and she nodded; he didn't know if it was in respect. He still hated that.

He looked down at her hand (the knuckles had torn skin) and took it with his own. Calmly brushing off any dirt and blood, he frowned with her. "You are injured," he said to her. He looked back at her face and saw a hint of happiness and joy run through her.

She slowly nodded. "Okay…" she replied back. Sesshomaru knew she was still dazed. She tried to move, but every part of her body ached. Instead Sesshomaru leaned towards her and moved her towards him, for comfort instead of leaning against the dresser. She didn't mind. It was comforting, after all. "Ah, warmth…" she whispered. Being with Naraku for a long time does something to the human spirit. He wrapped an arm around her.

His anger was still there, still cursing him for putting her through this torture. She looked awful and she smelt nothing like the lavender he loved. His eyes twitched a little bit and he whispered something in her ear. "I am sorry," her head rocked a little bit and she looked up at him.

"Don't," She was starting to slip back into the darkness once more, but she had to say something. "Thank you, Sesshomaru…" he looked down at her face in anguish as she began to close her eyes. "You saved me…" then she started to violently cough. No, she wasn't going to die, was she?

He tried to hush her by holding her closer. Why was her scent gone? Why did she have to be injured? What had he done to deserve this? "Do not speak," She started to breathe heavily again. Inuyasha and the others began to worry about her and she leaned more into him. He held her with all of his might, his head resting on top of hers, trying to hear anything that she might whisper. His lips were covered from her, too. He was worried, yes, but when he closed his eyes for a split second, he was content. She was safe from harm again and back in his arms. Then, she whispered.

"The…miasma…" He did not hesitate; he knew what to do.

His anger would not stop him from getting what he wanted.

**Oooh, this is the first chapter out of this whole deal that actually continues from a previous chapter! Well, then it goes into the future a little bit, but whatever, it works.**

**Someone will ask, and I will answer this now:**

_Wouldn't Kagome die if she were inhaling miasma all the time? _**AH, no. I made it so that the _scent _of miasma was still there. The miasma itself was gone; she only experienced the "cloud" of it before she passed out the first time. So now it was just poisoning her very slowly and painfully 8D**

**I always write lame deaths/battle scenes with Naraku. I hated how the anime/manga just DRAGGED IT ON for a long time, so I make it quick and easy. That, and I love the idea of Kagome being his one and only weakness. It just fits with me, that's all.**

**Well, I must be off to write a chapter for Blossoms (who knows when that'll be up, ha-ha) so I must leave you! Thank you for the reviews/hits/favorites/alerts so far! And thank you for reading!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**

_Next sin: Greed_**  
**


	6. Greed

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Sin #6: Greed**

**NOTE: Chapter's long. And basically a flashback.  
**

It had almost been a full day since he saved her from Naraku. Had it been a day? Sesshomaru could not tell; he forgot to see if the sun had risen that day or if there were clouds outside. Or perhaps it was nighttime. He wanted the sun; what did he need to give to get just that? But the moon had always been a treat to him—perhaps nighttime wouldn't be too much to keep, either.

Sesshomaru sat next to her body, wondering and daydreaming on when she would wake up—if she woke up. He tried to stay positive for however many hours had gone by, but no matter how much positivity he thought about, there were always the negatives to trump optimism. Had there always been this much negativity in his life? Perhaps this was the reason why his life had always been so empty. He needed to change that. But it was not the time to think about that.

He remembered when he came back; that old woman Inuyasha spoke about was waiting for him. He would've passed her up without a thought, but she was holding a basket of herbs, as if her intuition knew Kagome was injured. When he landed inside the village almost an hour after saving her, it certainly did not help his mindset when he was told terrible news from the elder.

_He picked her up from the floor and flew. He didn't need to talk to those around her at the palace, he didn't have to explain his actions with her, and he didn't want to talk to begin with; she was more important. They probably assumed—humans always pry into other's business—and knew not to ask. But her life, it had always been dwindling in his hands the moment he began to love her. He still didn't know when that moment had arrived, when he loved her, but he didn't care. He wanted her for himself, wanted to have her by his side for the rest of her living life—and possibly his, if she approved of his death along with hers. _

_The trees in his land, it meant nothing; those creatures that hid in the shadows from his presence, they did not care; those demons that threatened to kill Kagome because of her presence, he would kill later—he would do anything in his power to keep her alive. If that meant using his resources to buy her life, it would be done. The sun was setting on the land, the shadows creating a darkened path toward the one village he had been accepted in, and the girl in his arms had no time to spare. He had to act now or never._

_He looked down at her in his arms, to glance at what had been done. It was a travesty, to see her beauty scattered like that. Her face had little cuts surrounding her mouth, nose, eyes, everything. Her pristine skin was smeared with her blood, with drips still falling from her jaw. Her raven hair had dried blood—and new blood—crusting along her bangs and ends (he tried moving some of the hair strands from her face, but the blood smears made her face worse). Her lips were dry and scabbed, with gasps of air entering and leaving her body. _

_He looked at the rest of her body. Her outfit, torn from all the cuts and bruises Naraku had relinquished towards her. Her arms were the worst from the rest of her body. There were deep wounds down her arms, across her wrists, showing most of her muscles when the blood stopped from time to time. One of her hands rested on her stomach (there was a gash across her stomach) and it twitched every time he looked at it. How he wished to hold that hand, to feel that companionship once again. _

_Her legs—they were not terrible, but they were still cut. Most of the blood was dry, so looking at the small cuts in and around her legs hurt him. She was still lovely in his eyes, still the same woman he fell in love with—she did not deserve this pain, this agony, this hatred. Had all of his enemies felt this way before death? Had she felt death knocking on her life when she sat there, with Naraku, staring into Oblivion each time he attacked her? He couldn't let himself get caught up with meddlesome thoughts; he had to keep going._

_He, though, lost track of the path to the village he knew, and he had to stop. He looked down at her—he prayed she understood. Climbing the tallest tree, he dodged each sharp branch to peer over the horizons. Sesshomaru tightened his grip on her body and looked around for some sign of the village. But the sun was not being kind to give away the position of the village; there was no time to lose! Then, he felt movements. It shocked him and moved his soul—he had to look at her. Her eyes were given a little more color, but they still held the void he noticed when first arriving at the palace. There were tears cleaning some of the blood and entering some of the wounds; he did his best to wipe them away._

"_Sesshomaru…" she whispered. Her voice, so laced with pain and suffering, he wondered if her life was worth all of the pain she had gone through. He couldn't handle her breath, either (it smelt of blood). He just stared down at her, expressionless, even though his heart and mind were rampant with emotions. His golden eyes, how she adored them, and she smiled. It hurt to even do that so why did she even try? "Sesshomaru…" she repeated. He wanted to say something, but she continued. "I'm dying… aren't I?" _

_His heart sank. With all the power he had, with the title of being the Lord of the Western lands, he couldn't do a thing. He couldn't buy her medicine at this exact moment; he couldn't send an army to fight off her miasma coursing through her veins; he couldn't do a thing. He was powerless, something he was not used to feeling. She closed her eyes in pain and cried out. "I don't want to…" he felt her hand shaking in fear; he had to grab it. While she had so much strength still in her hand, she was losing every ounce of it as time went on._

"_I will see to it that you will live," he whispered to her. Kagome opened her eyes again and looked up at the man that saved her. How she wanted to live with him, be near him, to feel whole when around him. She was teetering on Death's door, but did everything in her power to stay alive. She didn't mind her stubbornness; she wanted this. Some part of her didn't believe him, though, that he would do everything—but the tingling sensation in her lips, from the kiss they shared before this occurred, made everything right. The wind picked up, their hair intertwining with the breeze, and she nodded._

"_If I die…" she whispered. Her voice was almost silent. Sesshomaru stared at her lips, making every word the only words he wanted to have in his heart. "If I die, will you promise…to find me in the future?" He blinked; if he could, he would cry. But it wasn't the time or place to cry, not then. She looked into his eyes for some kind of an answer. "Because, I think without you…I can't…maybe you're…my savior…" _

_He nodded. "You have my promise, Kagome," she closed her eyes in content; how he wanted to kiss her and carry her away on their own cloud nine. But he couldn't; he had to search for this village. He looked and looked and looked, turning with the wind and glancing out at every forest around. But it was no use; he had no idea where the place was, no markers on where it could be. He cursed himself for not knowing his way around his lands that easily. Human villages were not his forte. He looked back down at Kagome and frowned. She was going to die in his arms?_

_Then, he saw a red blur pass by. "Sesshomaru, you bastard! You don't even know your own lands?" The red blur stopped on a tree nearby and turned to face him. As much as Sesshomaru hated him, as much as he could not stand the red blur in the trees, he was the only one that knew the way "home." "If you want her to live like we all want her to live, you better go this way! It's not far!"_

_Sesshomaru watched as his half-brother skipped across the forest with a slow speed—she was lucky to be in his arms, as he was much faster. The companions of Kagome stopped next to him, all on top of the feline, and nodded. "Let's go, Lord Sesshomaru!" he did not acknowledge them; he only had one goal in his mind, one item that had no price on his mind. He had to get her back, he had to make everything right and see to it that she survived. _

_Because if she were to die, he would die with her._

_0o0_

_A woman held herbs in her arms. He knew this woman, this elder of the land. She was growing older as the days progressed, and there was no telling when she was going to fall into Oblivion herself. She still had the same robes from before, the same scent from all the times he had been in the village, the same look of worry and terror plastered on her face. Inuyasha and the others had arrived first, but not by many seconds before Sesshomaru and Kagome arrived as well. The older woman turned to a hut in the distance and noted the direction to go. _

"_Come, ye must hurry to save her life," Sesshomaru did not stay near her side and rushed past to get to the place where she—Kagome—needed to be. If he had to build another hut, another place, another village to have her stay and heal properly, he would get his resources together and do just that. As soon as he entered the home, he noticed the healing candles and different bandages surrounding the bed Kagome was given. As much as he wanted her in his arms the whole time, he knew._

_He knelt down and placed her on the ground. He would not leave her side, either—even if the woman told him to leave the hut. He had just little time to examine her before the rest were to come inside, and he stared at her with the emotions he wanted her to see. He wanted it to be the forest again, no Naraku to foil his plan, no terror in the shadows. He wanted to smell that savory scent she had before her abduction, wanted to see her happiness and fear of love… _

_Did he still have the fear of love? Was he afraid of this thing called "heartbreak", something that she had talked about because of Inuyasha? He didn't know whether to be afraid of "love" or to confide in its ideas and circumstances. If this was the fight for love, he was willing to fight. He was going to give her his all—power, wealth, whatever. He brushed some of the hair away from her face and saw her eyes open again. She turned her head and had a small smile grace her face._

"_Are you saving me again?" she whispered. He nodded. How he wanted to comfort her in his arms again! Before he said his response, she closed her eyes and let out a soft breath. "Thank you," soon enough, the old woman entered the hut and he felt his heart pained at her words. She always thanked him, but she didn't need to thank him at all; he had to save her, or else he'd lose the one thing he was fighting for the last year. _

_The old woman knelt down across from him and started to touch Kagome with her old hands. If it were anyone else, anyone he did not trust or like in a certain manner, he would rip their hands off of Kagome. But he knew this woman wanted to help. She would brush over each cut, examine each arm and rip the clothing to see the extent of her injuries. "She has lost many fluids," she mumbled to herself. Sesshomaru noted the others outside, either keeping their distance because they could not handle the smell of blood, or was ordered to stay outside to examine Kagome. Then why was he allowed here?_

_The woman started to make her way down Kagome's stomach to her thighs to her legs. "These wounds are deep," her hands were smearing the blood everywhere, tearing the cloth that kept her clothed everywhere, and the woman continued her work. Sesshomaru followed her wherever her hands went. When she lifted her shirt to see the stomach gash, it was red and purple, with different liquids beside blood coming from the wound. Sesshomaru's eyes twitched and his nose could not handle some of the smells; it was horrendous. Kaede looked up at Sesshomaru._

"_Are ye well? Are ye injured?" Sesshomaru stared at the wound._

"_Tend to her," he mumbled. She nodded and continued down her legs. It was the only gash that was purpled and bloodied the most. The rest of her injuries were minor, except those on the arms. They were terrible to see, to witness the loose skin hang from her arm. Sesshomaru saw the old woman reach for the basket and then back to Kagome. "She will be saved," Kaede sighed a dreary sound._

"_That I do not know," she mumbled, "and I can only administer these herbs to her wounds. She may die, Lord Sesshomaru, yet may live to breathe the fresh air. Her wounds are severe, the intake of miasma deadly—it will be a miracle for her life to be spared," Sesshomaru's face did not falter in the news, and continued to be serious with her. If anything, he wanted one more day with Kagome, with her alive, well, smiling, healthy….everything._

_Sesshomaru watched Kaede administer the herbs as he thought. Some of the wounds reopened as they were being healed, and he saw her bandage most of the wounds when healing. Sesshomaru, too, did the same on his side, touching the smooth skin he loved and wanted to himself. He saw his sleeves dip in her blood, soak in her blood, everything, but he did not care. Clothing meant nothing to him; it was a material good. _

_As he put some of the herbs on her body, he worried that he was hurting her instead of saving her. But every time he looked at her face, it still had the same content expression as before, and he continued to work with the older woman. He had never technically "saved" a woman in his life, only really fought to keep them alive. To save someone was a different meaning, a different lifestyle—he was an assassin, not a warrior of the land. _

_She finished her side before him, patching up the last wound on her arm and went to the stomach. Sesshomaru paused for a moment's breath and saw her grab a bundle of herbs to place on the wound. He did not know the herbs, nor did he know the medicine she was about to place on the open wound. He just hoped that the massive bleeding would stop and the purple coloring would fade in time. She looked up at Sesshomaru and he stared at Kaede._

"_Ye need to help me bandage," he unraveled the massive roll of bandage (it must've been from the future, where Kagome called home) and waited for Kaede to be done. She crushed all of the herbs together and spread the paste across the wound; more blood came gushing out for a few seconds, and it became irritated at the medicine, but it soon only pulsed with Kagome's heart and stopped bleeding. Sesshomaru watched the old woman lift Kagome up and saw her almost lifeless body slump forward on her knees._

_He couldn't see her face, but he could still picture that same expression on her face. Her raven hair was dry and wet with her blood, dripping with the liquid into the red puddles surrounding her body. Her back had not been touched by the wrath of Naraku, but it was soaked with her blood from her stomach's wound. The outfit hung by threads on her body, and he found himself both taking in the beauty before him and keeping the beauty hidden. Kaede motioned him to start bandaging, and he obliged. It was the first time he was ordered to help someone._

_Otherwise, it was pure instinct and his doing to save someone. "I hope your wounds heal, Sesshomaru," he heard her voice in his head. He wanted her wounds to heal now, wanted her to live. "Just get better!" He went back to that moment, the day when he fell in love, and only wished for her body to get better, to see her run away, to see her walk again, and to see her looking at him like she did in the forest. _

_When he was done, Kaede gently placed the lifeless Kagome back down on the ground. Dirt was now mingling with the blood on her body, and Sesshomaru made no move to brush it off—he would be seen as helping a human, and his pride was still too much to give up. Kaede brushed her own dirt off and tried hard to get the blood out of her clothing; Sesshomaru admired the blood on his clothing. It gave him a sense of hope and willpower to fight for her. The old woman rose from her spot while Sesshomaru stayed on the ground, next to her. He wanted to see those eyes again._

_Kaede looked down at Kagome, then to Sesshomaru. "She may never wake, Sesshomaru. She has been given all she can handle to survive. Only time will tell us whether she must live or die," Sesshomaru understood life and death. He handled it on a daily basis from his birth to now. Sesshomaru did not look up at the elder and Kaede continued. "May I ask ye of your presence near her? What are you to her?" _

_Sesshomaru was taken back. He was not expecting such a question. He didn't know how to answer it, either. What was he, really? Did she only think of him as a friend? Perhaps only a companion? A villain? A hero? What was his influence on her life? His mind couldn't form a perfect answer, couldn't answer the question at all, and his eyes showed this. He was scrambling for something, anything. Then, he heard her voice again, the sweet, angelic voice he longed to hear once more. "Maybe you're…" He looked up at a burning candle and closed his eyes._

"_This one is merely a savior," he whispered. Kaede, shocked by such an answer, could only nod. He turned his head back to the woman on the ground and the old woman stood in the doorway. _

"_Then take care of her, Lord Sesshomaru. Ye are her only hope," he was satisfied with this response. He wanted to be the only one for her, the one that could save her in her time of trouble, the one that would always be there to catch her when she fell…she needed him, right? He was her only hope for survival, her only hope to recover from the tragedy set in place. As he noticed the woman leave the hut, he was left in his thoughts again, hovering over Kagome's body._

_He noticed the night sky outside—time had quickly passed since he arrived. But he didn't care about the weather or the time of day. He cared about her, the only thing in his heart and mind. He sat in her blood, feeling it soak in his clothing and he looked down at his pants. It was where most of the blood resided, along with his swords. He didn't need them when he was around her—he quickly tossed them to the side and heard a soft noise with the swords colliding with the wood. _

_His beast was soon taking over again as he looked down at her. He didn't want his beast here; he wanted these emotions to be true and spirited. But even Sesshomaru couldn't control his beast. He felt his nails dig into the dirt below and feeling the blood pour into the small holes drilled in the ground. He closed his eyes. For the first time in a very long time, the pain he was feeling was something he was not used to. He wanted to buy her life back, buy the pain she felt in exchange for his life. He wanted to see her healthy. His beast cried in pain._

_Soft cries and whines came from his beast. He could feel his eyes changing colors—he knew when they were red—and felt his teeth grind against each other in agony. His eyes were still closed, still feeling regret for not saving her sooner, or rather, being there for her to protect her from Naraku in the first place. If it weren't for him, everything would be okay—he would have her, and she him. He felt one of his hands grace her presence and land on top of one of hers; the grip tightened. He turned his head to look at her face and opened his eyes. Her eyes were still closed. He was glad, because he didn't want to see what he had become._

_His beast could not stay there, not that night. He had to leave, but wanted to stay. She would understand—she would not die. He would not leave her alone for long, but he needed a breath of fresh air. His beast ripped his hand out from hers and leapt toward the door. He couldn't see her like that, couldn't see the pain he had caused on her body. When he was outside, the group turned to him, casually noting the blood staining his figure and the features changing on his very life. Inuyasha was the only one to talk._

"_Where are you going, Sesshomaru?" His beast pushed him aside and began to walk toward the nearest forest when Inuyasha yelled for him again. "Oi! You can't leave now!" Sesshomaru stopped at the edge and felt his being transform. His hands, they were shaking from the anger in his heart; his teeth bore fangs; his eyes were blood red. He turned to the group—Inuyasha was even shocked at the transformation happening—and snapped his teeth, almost like he was biting. Inuyasha expected no response, but received one._

"_Do not follow, lest you wish to perish," and soon, the Lord of the Western Lands disappeared in the shadows. _

0o0

Here he was now, sitting inside the hut, still watching her, still in the same place as before since he ventured back from the forest that night. He hadn't thought about what happened in the forest—it was all a blur to him anyway. Many villagers talked about a grand amount of trees chopped into pieces, and all worried about a killer demon roaming the lands. The group she travelled with assured their panicked minds.

He stayed by the door of the hut. He wanted no visitors except those he knew would not try to kill her, mainly her group and also the old woman, and would have occasional conversations with the visitors. There would be times when random strangers would try to enter, but once they saw the presence of a demon inside, they would usually leave almost immediately. Some left their prayers, others left medicine, and a few left money. Although he knew it was preposterous that money could save her, he could not be a hypocrite; he would've tried anything with the power he had to save her.

The only one that came on a daily basis was the demon slayer, offering her prayers and medicines to Kagome and himself, as he was injured. He did not tend to his wounds as much as Kagome's, though—he could heal at a much faster rate. The demon slayer wouldn't say much to him (it was more directed at Kagome) but there were a few times when she would say something to him. He did not know, though, whether they were full of malice or if they were considered gratitude. But words were only words to him; they meant no danger.

"_You saved her, Sesshomaru. I hope you know what this means," _he didn't know what to take from that, nor did he respond. At first, when it was spoken, he passed it off without second thoughts. But as he had times to reflect on the past, on what he had done in his life (he only saw the deaths he caused, nothing of life), he came back to what the demon slayer had said. _"Are you saving me again?" _With the exception of his wards, he never saved the same person twice. And now, he was saving Kagome, making sure she was safe in his arms, protected and willing to live.

This day was no different. Here he sat in the same spot, seeing a few of the members of the group come and go. The first one was the little fox demon.

"She's going to be okay, right, Sesshomaru?" Sesshomaru sat there, looking at the body of his precious. Perhaps it had been a few days, because some of her wounds were healing at a progressive rate. He looked over at the fox demon and showed nothing. "I mean, she'll live?"

"It is not guaranteed," Shippo slammed his fists in the dirt and began to cry.

"But you saved her! She has to survive, she has to!" Sesshomaru was going to respond, but the fox demon quickly left the hut, leaving him alone again. What if she was not going to survive? What would happen? Sesshomaru couldn't reflect for long. The monk entered with the demon slayer and both were crying. Sesshomaru looked at them and wondered why they were and how long they had been crying. The monk looked down at him.

"We offer our prayers," both the demon slayer and monk said a few prayers and quickly left. Their visit was not drawn out like the fox demon, sitting in silence and contemplation. Sesshomaru wondered about their strange attitudes and personas, but saw a red blur come through the door. A few moments later, Inuyasha entered; Sesshomaru still could not look at his half-brother with concern, even in a moment of despair. He saw the half-demon kneel before her and brush some dirt off her face.

"She's saying she will not survive the night," Sesshomaru pictured the old woman in his mind. On what grounds could she say something this sinister? "She doesn't know why, but something will make her die tonight." Sesshomaru stared at him and Inuyasha met his eyes. "Will you use the Tenseiga if she does die?"

Sesshomaru looked to the ground. "No," he replied. He would not hesitate with his answer. He would not want the one he loved to feel the pain all over again from Naraku's wrath. She would come back, with the same injuries on her body, the same mindset still in pain, and would perish once more, without means of saving. Inuyasha rose to his feet in anger, and Sesshomaru knew this would happen.

"Why not? You've been coming to this place for her, and now you'll say you won't save her? You saved her from Naraku killing her, but you refuse…" Sesshomaru interrupted.

"I refuse nothing," Inuyasha scoffed.

"You refuse to bring her back if she dies!"

"I would bring her back if she were to die, but not in these circumstances, half-breed," Inuyasha felt his hand shake—he wanted to fight him.

"Damn it, Sesshomaru, just once! Do what's right!" Sesshomaru couldn't. He wouldn't be able to bring her back into the world, just to feel the pain she had succumbed to.

"What is right is wrong," Inuyasha shook his head in defiance and stormed out of the hut.

"Damn it all!" Sesshomaru would not see him for the rest of the night. He was okay with this, seeing as how his attention focused on the girl lying in front of him. If she had just suddenly died for no reason whatsoever, he would save her. He would bring her back in a heartbeat (he would give his heartbeat to feel hers beat again). But in this condition, he would rather see her rest and recover than see her feel it all over again.

He rose to his feet and walked toward her. How he wished to taste her lips again; how he wished to hear her voice; how he wanted her to walk toward him and look into his eyes with her colorful ones. He gently sat down next to her body and stared at her face. The cuts on her face were healing rather well (he didn't look down at her stomach, fearing it was still bleeding) and color continued to spread itself over her cheeks. How was she to die when she looked so well?

He looked down to her hands. Her knuckles were scabbed, but were healing nonetheless. Her arms were still banged up and her wounds were not healing as fast as the others, but they did not bleed anymore. He was glad about that, at least. He stared at his own hand in comparison to hers. How he wished his hands were cut and torn and bruised, not hers; how he wanted to trade places with her; how he wanted his blood scattered across the floor instead of hers. But it wouldn't be that easy, would it? He took her hand anyway and suddenly closed his eyes.

It had been quite a while since he brought his faith back into the world. The last time he prayed—god, it was when his mother passed. At her funeral, at her burial, he prayed that she would be back from the mess that had occurred and her soul and body would return. He needed his mother, his sanity. But she never came, and he lost his faith. He felt he was better than God (there was his pride again) and put lives into his own hand, made sure their deaths were right.

But with the new life in his hand, he wanted no part of God. He wanted to be the selfless demon in love, the one back when his mother was still alive. She made sure he was not an assassin and tried everything in her power to make him a powerful demon, one without malice or spite. But when she died in battle with her father in a war, when her body began to deteriorate in front of his eyes on the battlefield, everything left. She tried to win with love, compassion—but his father got to live hundreds of years before his death by using power and hate. _"Sesshomaru, live to live, not to kill," _he tried to live up to her words. But he could not promise her such lies.

So he prayed. He didn't know who to pray to, didn't know what to say. He felt stubborn for thinking about saving her life and giving up his. But he knew faith would not work in such ways. He would bargain with God, if he had to, but he'd rather use everything in his power to get her back, to win her life back. With his eyes closed, he saw her alive. He didn't want to open his eyes again if he was content this way. His beast whined; it was painful to feel her life leaving his side when he tried to save it again. There was nothing he could do; she was going to die.

"_Sesshomaru?" _her voice echoed in his mind. Ah, that was the voice he looked for. _"Why me?" _Because he was in love, that was why. He needed to see her one more time, just one. He would kiss those lips one more time, then she would disappear. He opened his eyes and looked down at their hands together, bonded for the time that meant something. He saw her fingers moving, gently wrapping with his. How he did not feel such movements, he did not know. But now he saw them. He looked to her face and saw her swaying her head back and forth, as if in defiance. She had a small smile on her face, her eyes closed in happiness. What was she smiling about?

"Why me?" she whispered. So, she had been talking to him. And here he thought it was just his mind playing a game. When she woke, she saw him sitting next to her, holding her hand, looking bewildered and confused, pained and full of sorrow. She was confused, too, trying to piece the puzzle together. Why did he stay by her? Why was he here? Why did she _feel_ this way? She tried calling his name, but it was hushed. She didn't expect him to hear her if he was deep in thought. So she started to smile. She was happy where they were, even if she was on the brink of death most of the time there. _I even thought about dying, but saw him most of the time in the dream, _she noted.

He saw her eyes open and she looked at him with bewilderment. "Why me, Sesshomaru?" He blinked. He didn't need to think of an answer; his answer was always right in front of him, either in person or in his thoughts.

"Why not?" He saw her eyes close and she let out a small chuckle.

"I don't know," she turned her head the other way. She opened her eyes and saw the burnt out candles melting away. The color on her cheeks were a bright red; he smirked. "You tell me," he would, he definitely would.

Only time would tell, though.

**Oh hey. Remember me? Probably not, probably not. Hi, I'm TheLostSpirit, the author...**

**WTF I'M UPDATING!**

**LOL**

**Um, yes, I'm updating! I hate this chapter _so much though. _You have no idea. Like, I tried getting back into my writing style. DIDN'T HAPPEN. So, I rushed basically the story. At first, I was going to kill her. I'm not lying, I wanted to kill off Kagome. But then I would be killing Sesshomaru next chapter. And that's not fun. So I kept her alive...and rushed her feelings LOL**

**Um, about that: see, when she saw him fighting for her against Naraku, his voice came and saved her! 8D It's the little things that make her feel love, that's all.**

**I really wanted to make this more bloody, too. I'm just saying.**

**ANYWAY, I'm done here. Sorry for the long wait! I'm trying to update ALL of my stories, but it's going to be a while (college sucks). **

**Until next time!**

**TLS**

_Final sin: Pride._**  
**


	7. Pride

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha.  
**

**Sin #7: Pride**

It was raining.

She was underneath her umbrella next to the well, watching the raindrops fall from the edge of her umbrella. The trees were dripping with the water falling from the sky; the grass could not contain any more of the rain, so it started to flood in different spots; the well, too, was flooding, as the nonstop rain continued to fall. A cool, autumn breeze sent shivers up and down her spine as the air continuously swirled around her body. She looked around.

Nothing had changed since she first fell through the well into the past. All the trees—well, probably some of the trees were missing now due to fights in the area—were still standing. The grass was still green. The village was still some miles away. The small, dirt path to the village still went in the same direction. She looked to the sky. The clouds were darkening; some villagers were saying a massive storm was coming through the area. She didn't want to believe them.

She sighed and saw the air come out of her mouth. She did not know how much longer she was supposed to stand in the rain, waiting for him to come. She was scheduled to meet the man by nightfall, and she hoped she would not have to wait until nightfall for him to come, especially since it would be many more hours until he would arrive. Not to mention that she would fall ill, and she barely had any medicine to last the week. So she looked toward the village and waited, carelessly drifting into the past to remember.

0o0

_It was morning. Everyone gathered in a small hut, with a few outside to listen. A small, womanly voice spoke in the dead silence. "Inuyasha, what are you going to wish for, now that we have the jewel?" The woman looked at her longtime friend with wonder as she held the jewel in front of his body. Inuyasha just stared at the jewel, wondering and dreaming of a life with and without the jewel's power. But for the months waiting for the question to be asked, and for the woman across from him to heal, he knew the right answer._

"_It will not be for me, Kagome," she looked in his face; the man behind her made a comment toward Inuyasha._

"_So, a half-breed thinks for others now," the man said. Inuyasha growled._

"_Oi! Shut up, Sesshomaru! No one asked you to be in this hut!" Sesshomaru gazed down at Kagome, who still held the jewel in her hand. _

"_There is something here that cannot escape my side," he replied. Inuyasha scoffed; Kagome blushed. She stared into the jewel's light, hoping it would take her mind off of the man behind her (it didn't) and hoped that he would somehow leave the hut, to make things less awkward (he didn't). _

"_Keh! The only reason you are here is because you think you obtained Kagome," Kagome closed her eyes; another fight was to commence, she thought, "when, really, she still wants to be with the group! Besides, the hell with humans, that's your motto," she opened her eyes. A small step was heard toward Kagome, in which she felt Sesshomaru's leg brush against her back. She gently turned her head and looked up to see his face; he was staring into her eyes. _

_They said nothing. It was only for a brief moment, then he looked back at Inuyasha; she watched him, hoping to look into his eyes again. She wanted to know why he stared, but he did nothing to answer her questions. "Make your decision quick, half-breed. I would wish to watch the sunset on time instead of listening to your incessant talk about your wish," and with a sharp turn, he was gone. Kagome watched his shadow disappear as soon as he left the hut's entrance, and she turned back to the man across from her._

"_Damn him," he mumbled, with his hands over his head. What was he to do? Once he made a wish, everyone he knew would disappear, and he would be left to tend to the village, probably. All of the friends made over the years, gone. He might as well just be back on the tree, with an arrow sticking out of his chest, sleeping peacefully under rain or shine. He looked at Kagome. "What would you wish for?"_

_She looked down at the jewel. She never really thought about it; she would probably choose a stupid, selfish wish and hear the complaints from the group. She'd never be in peace until death, and who knows—the complaints could probably follow in death. She blinked—that was it. She looked up at Inuyasha, who sat in silence with her, and shrugged. "I don't know, I guess for Midoriko to finally rest in peace," Inuyasha relaxed._

_Then he smiled. Kagome looked down at the jewel with him and stared at the pinkish glow. "That's what I wanted to wish for," she heard him chuckle, and she smiled with him. "I'm glad we still think alike," she nodded. _

"_Yeah," she replied. She closed her eyes, mumbled a few enchantments, and a bright light shined in the entire hut. It was blinding—Inuyasha groaned in pain. Then, nothing. He didn't feel the pain, surprisingly, after maybe five seconds—a sense of peace came through the hut and the land once the light started to fade. _

_Outside, Sesshomaru felt the slight breeze calm those worried about the jewel's presence in the village; Sango and Miroku calmly watched a few clouds roll by; Shippo sat next to the hut and closed his eyes. Then, the light was gone, and life continued. The silence was replaced with laughter and sounds, followed by voices inside different huts. A few rustles came inside the small hut, followed by a body coming out. Inuyasha sighed and stretched._

"_Finally," Sango mumbled under her breath._

"_Yes," Miroku added. "We all can rest now. Let peace be with all of us as rewards," Sango nodded and leaned against him for rest. She closed her eyes and smiled._

"_Keh, I hope Naraku burns in hell for all the trouble he's caused us. I mean, really-" Just then, Inuyasha was pushed out of the way by Sesshomaru, who re-entered the hut. Inuyasha turned his head toward him and growled, but scoffed once again and continued his rant with the others. "—the guy deserves nothing but the worst for all eternity." And all they could do was nod._

_0o0_

_Sesshomaru heard his words, but he cared not about Inuyasha. He looked down at the woman still sitting on the floor, still staring at the jewel in her hand. It was now a dull color, with its luster gone from the world. To him, it was nothing more than a piece of trash; to her, however, it was her life the moment she entered the past. He did not move from his spot, nor did he make himself known. He just stood there, staring at the woman that he almost lost._

_Her wounds were finally disappearing, leaving numerous scars all over her body. But he didn't care—she still was the beautiful woman he fell in love with under the rain. Her image is scarred because of the evil that had been ridden of, but her life was the world. She was still unable to walk very much, nor could she really talk in her normal voice (it came and went in weak spatters) but she was still there, still able to be by his side. And that's what he wished for when the jewel was in their hands, when she was finally in his hands. _

_She closed her hand and hid the jewel from both their eyes. "Finally," she muttered. He blinked; she closed her eyes. He took the chance and started to walk around her, and she felt a tiny breeze pass her arm. When she opened her eyes, she saw the clothing of Sesshomaru easily walk around her petite body and sit next to her against the wall. He showed no emotion whatsoever, but she just stared into his eyes that stared into the little fire. _

"_Your journey has ended," he whispered to her. It was the first time she heard him actually whisper something. Usually, it was more of a direct voice that came from him._

_She nodded. His eyes scanned over to hers and stared into them. They said nothing again, as if words would not be enough. Finally, she spoke. "Yes, it has. It's almost surreal, like it should still be going," he slightly nodded._

"_A journey must end at some point," he replied._

"_Yes," she agreed, "I know. Where do I go from here, then?" His eyes drifted away from hers and stared into the fire again. Her hand dangled over the flame, perhaps to keep it warm from the autumn air, and he felt his beast yearn for her touch. She was still delicate after the incidence with Naraku, but she was freed from harm. So his beast reacted, and stretched through time and space to connect. Once the touch was made, he rose to his feet—she as well—and stared at her. She could only blush and show a small smile on her face._

"_Outside," he replied. She nodded, and turned her hand to his palm; the jewel slid out from them and fell to the ground. She felt like he treated her like royalty, but she did not care; it was a boost for her self-esteem. _

_0o0_

_It was dusk. The sun was setting over in the Western lands; the clouds were changing into numerous colors of the rainbow; the sky was blending different colors together to form night; the trees were silent. Two bodies rested underneath a large tree almost on the edge of a cliff, watching the sunset. It was hardly a romantic meeting, but one could not leave the side of the other; they were too worried of attackers coming to sabotage their bliss._

_She closed her eyes; her head was on his shoulder, resting from the amount of strain finally being lifted from her own shoulders. She could see the light fading in the background and turning into the starry night sky she feared when evil still roamed Feudal Japan. But now that they were gone, she wished for the stars to guide her somewhere far away, somewhere she could call home. She slightly moved against his arm and smiled._

_He continued to watch her from the corner of his eyes. Everything about her—her face, body, voice, soul, scent—he could never let her escape again. She was so close from being destroyed, from being underground and away from his life—he couldn't go through it again. But he knew that all journeys had to end at some point, and her life would come to a stop along the way. But he could wait for her life to begin again, to meet her in the future and start all over. He would continue to meet her halfway until the end of his own life, until they met in Heaven, together._

_He saw her smile. It was beautiful. He hadn't seen her smile in a while, what with all the pressure with the jewel, the battle with Naraku (and her own life), and, not to mention, having to deal with a certain half-breed. But he wondered what she was smiling about. Dare he ask? He briefly looked out toward the sun and saw the crimson sky start to turn a dismal black, followed by soft, glittering lights flickering with the rising moon in the distance. He looked back at her; she was still smiling._

"_Do you smile for the day's end?" She opened her eyes and looked up at him._

_She shrugged. "No, not necessarily the end of something, but the beginning of something else," she leaned away from him—he felt cold—and looked into his eyes. "Tell me something, Sesshomaru," he saw her turn away from him and stare off into the distance. Something had been on her mind, and he wanted to know what it could be that bothered her. "Tell me about…your future."_

_His future consisted of wars, his lands, Jaken, finding Rin and making sure she was still okay, more wars, his lands again, Inuyasha's constant bickering and fighting with Sesshomaru, and her. Especially her. He didn't care if he had to deal with the rest of the world—so long as she was by his side, nothing stood in his way. He was unstoppable. "What do you wish to know about my future?" She blushed—he understood._

"_U-Um, well…" he looked out to the distance with her._

"_You are wondering where you are in this one's life," he answered. She turned her head and became flustered._

"_W-Well, yeah, I guess, when you put it that way," she replied. "I mean, yeah, it sounds selfish, but after going through all that with Inuyasha, I don't want-"_

"_I refuse to be compared to that half-breed," he interrupted her. She mumbled a quick apology, and he shook off his anger; his beast needed to calm down. "Rest assured," his voice calmed her and she raised her head to look at him again; her eyes met his, "I will not break our promise to leave you," she blushed, "nor will I have you break our promise. That half-breed lost what he had gained, and for reasons, I can assure you, that are not in my interest. I hungered for you; I require you for the sake of my health, Kagome."_

_The wind picked up; little strands of their hair intermingled with one another. She had no reply to his words; she just stared into his eyes and wondered how he could say those words without showing any kind of emotion. But she knew he would say something like this since they saw each other in the hut, when Inuyasha was still there. He started to move; she sat still. When he rose to his feet, she looked to the ground. How was she to reply to something like that?_

_He looked down at her, and saw her wondering again. Her scars dimmed with the light and her beauty started to shine with the moonlight. And when she finally looked up at his face, my, how her eyes made his heart race. She was the only one that could do something like that to him, and he felt fantastic. And when he stared at her lips? How he wished that he had commenced the mating rituals sooner, so he could have them claimed already. While deep in thought, he saw her lips move._

"_Then I'm tired of waiting," she replied. He blinked; he knew, he understood. It was when he tried to take her away in the village, when Inuyasha attacked both because she had been talking to him. And he was still there. _

"_Then we will leave."_

0o0

The rain started to fall harder and faster. The leaves were viciously blowing in the terrible wind, and she still stood under it all, waiting for him to come. Perhaps he wouldn't come—had he changed his mind? No, she thought, he couldn't have. It was only a couple weeks ago that it all happened, that he said they would leave. She took his word. He had made a promise to her, too, and he wished to never have that promise broken. So it meant something to both of them, right? Or was she the gullible one and didn't realize until it was too late?

Then, a splash. It was a sudden splash and an irregular splash compared to the raindrops falling into numerous puddles, so when she turned around, she was not surprised to see the man she had been waiting for, standing in the rain. She frowned and held the umbrella high enough over his head, so both were covered. She had to stand really close to him, though, but she didn't care; heat was heat. He just stared down at her almost dry body (the bottom of her clothing was covered in mud and her body was now starting to get wet because of his own body next to hers) and felt his heart at ease.

"Sesshomaru, you're soaking wet! You'll catch a cold!" She worried that his skin had possibly gotten paler, or that the soaking wet clothing would cause him to be cold for a long time. He, however, did not care if he got sick or not, and grabbed the umbrella from her to hold above them. She thanked him—her arm was getting tired—and suddenly felt his wet, cold lips on her dry, cold lips. A little gasp came from her mouth, but she soon relaxed and closed her eyes with him. And when they parted, the rain continued to fall, but they were both dry from it all.

He didn't mean to leave her out in the rain for so long—he and Inuyasha had a spat over why Kagome should and should not leave the village—and he couldn't express himself with words, because his beast needed her. He _always_ needed her, no matter the circumstances. "Great, now I'll probably catch cold," she mumbled into his chest. He smirked; he always had power over those that he cared about. She looked back up at him. Her eyes widened. "Hey, what are you smiling about?" His beast wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned her against his chest.

"You, Kagome, that's all," he mumbled, but she could not hear; he was glad, for his beast suddenly came and went in the blink of an eye. Kagome sighed.

"Sometimes, Sesshomaru, you're always so mysterious," she leaned her back away from him, her body still against him, and looked in his face. "So, Sesshomaru," he did not mind hearing her voice all the time while he was silent; he enjoyed every bit of it, "before we venture off, you are sure the others will not mark you weak because of me? I mean, how Inuyasha said 'to hell with humans', it kind of rings true for your past, Sesshomaru. I certainly do not want to be your downfall."

His pride was at stake. If word was out that he were going to mate a human being, all demons across Japan would come and try to take his head. They would try with all their might to dethrone him and take her as their torturous slave, without a savior to help her in that world. Everything was on the line for him when it came down to it, and she was the cause of it all. In the past, he would have never thought twice about mating a human being—it would be instantly rejected. But because she was by his side, his pride was thrown out the window and it ceased to exist.

"They may call me weak, but their blood will be spilt, not mine," she nodded.

"Well that is true, you have yet to be defeated," he blinked. This was true. She pushed off of him and stood under the umbrella with him just a few inches away. She still stared into his lovely golden eyes, and he still stared at the wondrous beauty that was before him. If it weren't for her, he would not be alive; if it weren't for him, she would cease to exist. Without one, there would be no other. "Then where do we go from here?" She smiled. Yes, his pride—it did not matter anymore. He would still kill a man if he mocked his life, or spoke of her in any ill way. He would not hesitate or spare a life. But he had the biggest prize in life, the one thing that kept his pride above all, in the way that no one would be able to tell if it had changed or not because of it:

her.

**SLOWLY BUT SURELY, I AM UPDATING EVERYTHING.**

**Oh my GOD. I'm DONE! I finished a story! Thank you, thank you. I know, it's a momentous occasion. Trust me, I'm throwing confetti as we speak.**

**And do I like this ending? Not at all. I might post the alternate ending that I originally wanted, but I figured you guys would like the happy ending instead of the other ending, lol. AND I CAN GUESS THAT THE CHARACTERS ARE OOC. YEAH. I CAN GUESS THAT. I tried reading my story over to get the characters right, but I couldn't do it. It was too hard. So, you can expect this same crappy result when I actually get around to updating Blossoms. And when will I update that? WHO KNOWS!**

**But hey guys, thanks so much for reading this over the year it's been out. It wasn't meant to take this long, but I FINALLY DID IT! YAY! And I'm terribly sorry if the ending is really, really bad. I'm sick, I'm only doing this because of the break between finals, and I have a serious case of writer's block. It's a little ridiculous, but I tried tying up all the loose ends in the storyline, so that's good. **

**And what makes Sesshomaru's pride? Her. That's special and corny at the same time.**

**Thank you EVERYONE who's read this, reviewed this (AND MY OTHER STORIES! I feel so loved when I read the reviews on one-shots and old stories. They're very kind!) and loved or hated this. Thank you SO MUCH READERS! I knew I loved you for a reason.**

**Until next time! (whenever that is)  
**

**TLS  
**


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